How I Met Your Father
by foreveryoung.foreverlost
Summary: Sitting across from Jasper at our family dinner table after all these years was my version of a picket fence. A story about love, loss, family, hope and tragedy. Rated M for slash lovin'. JasperxEdward.
1. Dad, How Did You Meet Dad?

**This story was inspired by the show "How I Met Your Mother" but the plot is completely original. I don't have an updating schedule yet as I'm going to work on a bunch of the chapters ahead of time so that after the holidays I can post fairly regularity.**

"**How I Met Your Father" will be 8 chapters long and there will be a sequel but I haven't figured out an outline for it yet.**

**You can get visual aids that accompany each chapter on my profile that are of characters, sceneries, objects and buildings.**

**I've rated this story M because there will be mature matters as well as some flawless slash lemony goodness later on. Trust me.**

**I'm looking for a beta as well, so PM me if you're interested. I hope there aren't too many spelling mistakes in this chapter, I've read it over a million times so hopefully I caught everything**

**Twilight doesn't belong to me, just borrowing the characters.**

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**Chapter One** – Dad, How Did You Meet Dad? _EPOV_

**March 25th****2033**

When I was younger, everything felt drastic and life altering. Any split decision could have led me down a completely different life path than the one I truly wanted. Filled with determination and striving for that glorified end result of a picket fence in an alternate universe always left emptiness and disappointment with me. It took years to realize that happiness isn't a cookie cutter. It changes from person to person depending on their demands and expectations. After all these years, after everything that has been thrown at me, kicked in my direction and blessed me, I can finally look back on my delusional youth and blind sided adulthood and realize that happiness has always been there, just in a different place than where I was looking.

I was a very driven human being. When I decided to accomplish something, everything fell to the side so that my goal could be reached. This was one of many flaws I carry. My father's a doctor and so was his, so naturally I grew up with the expectation of following the Cullen tradition and going into the field of medicine after high school. There was never any true pressure form my parents, but had I discussed any alternative for my secondary education I would have been questioned like a murder suspect. Luckily genetics worked in my favor so math's and science's came easily to me in high school and with only some difficulties in university and med school. I never took my eyes off the prize until I had completed all eight years of medical school and training.

I had no regrets on my schooling decisions. I went to University of Washington for my undergrad and Johns Hopkins for med school, both excellent institutions. In all my effort to achieve my career dreams, I let friends, family and love fall to the side, especially love. I did not regret striving towards becoming a surgeon but I do regret not searching for more than one source of fulfillment and contentment.

Maybe life was supposed to lead you on the biggest D turn ever heard of; it certainly did for me because since I was nineteen everything has kept coming back to the same person. My constant. Okay, not my _only_ constant seeing as my parents and other family and friends have known me longer than he has and have supported me continuously since day one, but he was definitely my main constant.

Sitting across from Jasper at our family dinner table after all these years was my version of a picket fence. It was as if I could go on and on about how he is my sun and moon and the air I breathe but I feel as though that would be a little theatrical. To sum up what my husband, life partner and father of my children Jasper Whitlock means to me was simply impossible to put on paper, in writing or even describe. All I could really say was he has become and has remained for the past twenty-eight years my _everything_.

Jasper hadn't changed since we first started dating, not much anyways. Sure his hair was grayer and much shorter than the chin length blond locks he used to carry and he now had slight wrinkles that were starting to appear on his forehead and cheeks but it didn't matter. To me he was still the sexy, confident man I met those many years ago. We've both aged fairly well as I myself have acquired a tamed version of my once unruly bronze locks and have started to show signs of wrinkles as well. Growing old together has lived up to everything and more I thought it would be when we said 'I do.'

It was two nights before our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and Oliver and Lily had flown home from their respective schools for the occasion. It was nice to have the kids back in the house again. Empty nest syndrome is most definitely a seriously illness. Trust me, I'm a doctor.

Oliver, our eldest, was twenty-three now and in law school at Stanford. Although Oliver is not ours genetically, he still seemed to inherit wild unattainable hair like Jasper and I once had, although his was a dark chocolate brown. Standing at 6'5 he was with out a doubt the tallest person in our entire extended family, with Emmett, Jasper's brother in law, closely behind him at 6'3.

Lily was our baby girl, even at twenty years old. We decided to go through surrogacy with Lily and having Jasper be her biological father did not favour his love between our two children. Coming into this world, Lily was two and a half months pre-mature and Jasper and I have consciously been quite protective of her since the moment she left the hospital. She was now a Journalism major at Yale University and top of her class. It was easy to say that Jasper and I were overly proud of our children.

"Ollie, seriously, how are you ever going to keep a girlfriend if you do not cut that discussing mop of tangles that lies on the top of your head?" Lily looked toward her brother with a humorous look of disgust on her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about Lil, I've had no trouble gettin' with the ladies. _They_ think it's sexy," Oliver pushed the dark brown hair out of his face.

"PJ, please tell your delusional son to at least wash that head of his before the party," she whined to Jasper. The kids figured out early on that calling us Papa J and Papa E was a little to long and awkward so when they were old enough to really explore nicknames they shortened them to PJ for Jasper and Pop E for me.

"Oliver, I do have to admit that it could use a wash, and a comb, and perhaps a cut," Jasper admitted with a smirk on his face. Oliver gave Jasper a slight know it all look then lightly tossed a pea off his plate to Jasper. Even at twenty-three and on his way to becoming a lawyer, my son still acted like a five year old. "And perhaps you could learn some table manners as well," he laughed then threw a pea off his own plate lightly towards Oliver.

"Come on PJ, I've seen pictures of you and Pop E when you were younger, you had longer hair than I did when you were my age," Oliver waved his hand around his mid-ear length wavy hair. I smirk at his comment.

"It was the late 90's, I didn't know what came over me," Jasper defended.

"It's true, but trust me, on your father I found it extremely sexy," I piped in.

"Gross," both kids said in unison while Jasper's smirk intensified to one that I was all too familiar with.

"That first date with your father, even though he was an ass through the whole thing, I loved his beach blonde tangled hair," I said while dishing out more salad onto my now empty plate, "It was like permanent sex hair," I added.

"Dad!"

"Ew! Stop!" Our children, like any other on the planet earth, were in denial of their parent's sexual relationship. I knew for sure that even at fifty-four I could only mentally acknowledge that my parents have had sex twice. Alice and me.

"You were an ass on your very first date?" Lily asked Jasper after the haze of mortification passed over her.

"In my defense, it was a bad day," Jasper pleaded his case.

"You pretty much insulted me the entire evening with assumptions that I was a stuck up trust-fund kid who stuck his nose up to anyone bellow me and then dined and dashed."

"What!" Lily spun to Jasper while Oliver just burst out laughing.

"You did have a trust fund…" Jasper pointed out.

"Not the point," I stated.

"Okay, you have to tell us this story because for all these years I have been under the impression that you and PJ met sometime during university at a party," Lily said pointedly to me.

"Jasper and I were set up on a blind date believe it or not by uncle Emmett in 1999. Jasper was in his first year of university while I was in my second," I cleared up for her.

"That doesn't clear anything up. I want a story. I can't believe I haven't heard this sooner!" Looking at my beautiful daughter, I sighed and gave in.

"You tell the story, I'll start clearing dishes," Jasper stood up and lightly winked at me before removing some of the larger dirty bowls off the table.

"Okay, it was an early day in March, I believe…"

**March 5th****1999**

Holding on tightly to the umbrella that shielded my body from the ever-persistent rain, I used one hand to tighten the headphones around my head and connected the cord into my diskman. "Every Morning" assaulted my ears as I made my way from my apartment to the restaurant where I was to meet my friend Emmett's girlfriend's brother, Jasper, on a blind date.

Being one of the few openly gay students on campus definitely had its ups and downs. I didn't have very many male friends and girls only talked to me if they wanted a shopping or manicure partner, which I was not down for. Emmett and my best friend Ben were really my only two friends other than my sister Alice and Ben's girlfriend Angela. Along with most students slightly shying away from me, it didn't help that being a pre-med student didn't allow for much of a social life.

Emmett warned me beforehand that although Jasper did not hide that he was gay, he was not completely out. This was why the restaurant we were going to was a little off campus but not too far for me to walk. I had met Rosalie once or twice and although I am a gay man inside ad out, I can most definitely recognize when a woman is attractive and Rosalie can only be described as stunning. If this was any clue to what her younger brother looked like then I could already feel the nerves doubling in the pit of my stomach.

I may be out, to my family since eleventh grade and to the world since I moved to University, but that doesn't mean I've had much experience in dating or relationships. Yup, tonight would be my first date, ever.

Approaching the small Italian restaurant that Emmett had picked out for us, I entered and looked around. I had no idea what he looked like so I wasn't sure what I was even looking for. Going up to the hostess station, I asked if a Jasper had come in. The girl said no and I told her my name, that I required a table for two and that he would be dining with me when he arrived.

I didn't have to wait long for Jasper to show up. When he walked through the door of the small restaurant, I knew it was him immediately. His disastrous blond hair was deliriously foxy and his bone structure was similar to Rosalie's. The hostess brought him over to my table and that's when I noticed that he looked flustered and a little stressed.

"Hi, I'm Edward," I stood up to shake his hand. He nodded and shook my hand very briefly before quickly sitting down.

"Jasper." He quickly introduced himself. Sitting back down a slight awkward silence came over us. I didn't know what to do; I'd never done this before. Was it supposed to be this forced?

"I'm surprised we haven't met before, I've known Emmett for a year or so," I tried to make some form of conversation.

"He did say something about you not being very social, perhaps you could have come to one of the many gatherings he's put together," Jasper said nonchalant but with a hint of bitterness.

Whoa. Did I do something to offend him within the thirty seconds of him arriving?

"My course load doesn't allow much time for an extensive social life," I defended.

"Which would be…"

"I'm pre-med," I offered, slightly impressed with myself.

"Oh I see… and I suppose anyone who isn't in a field of science is simply wasting their time on an easy course load and without a future ahead of them?" There was nothing I could say that impressed this guy. Sure he was hot, but with his attitude I wanted nothing to do with him. This was such a bad idea.

"I didn't say that. What is your major?" I asked politely.

"History."

"That's very respectable. History majors need a certain skill to retain large sums of information and then condensing it all into essays and reports as well as putting their own interpretation on it," I offered my point of view.

"Oh and now you know all about my department?" _Seriously. What the hell?_

"Hi, my name is Carly and I'll be your server for this evening. Is there anything I could get you gentlemen to drink?" The brunette beside us had a polite smile on her face.

"Can I get an Coke?" I asked and she nodded.

"I'll have a Iced Tea, and do you allow smoking in this section?" Jasper asked. I wanted to roll my eyes but only did so mentally. The waitress gave the OK and went off to get our drinks.

When I turned back to Jasper I saw him pulling out a pack of smokes and a lighter. Staring at the process, he did the most decent thing all night and offered me one as well, too bad I wasn't a smoker. After holding a lung in your hands that had belonged to a man that smoked for forty years it's safe to say that I have successfully stayed away cigarettes.

Jasper lit the cigarette and the put his pack and lighter on the table. I didn't enjoy breathing in smoke either but I guess I would have to put up with it.

"Doctor doesn't approve?" He asked while blowing out his first drag.

"After seeing what it does to your lungs, it's just hard for me to understand why anyone would willingly smoke," I said calmly, "And I'm not a doctor yet," I add.

"Doesn't smoke, doesn't go to parties, likes doing homework… you must be some sort of prodigy trust-fund kid." The assumption is right on target, but he doesn't need to know that.

"I'm sorry, did I offend you or something?" This was ridiculous, I know I've been polite and friendly through this entire 'date' so far and all he has done is insult me and my career choice and blown smoke in my face.

"I just don't understand why Emmett would have set us up, we're clearly in different worlds…or something." He used my phrase again and I was slightly shocked at his strong dislike for me. He didn't even know me.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," I offered lamely.

Jasper blew out another breath of smoke then looked at his watch, "Okay, Edward, it was great to meet you and whatever but I have to go, see you around." And to my utter and complete disbelief he actually stood up, got his things and left. Before our drinks even arrived.

I don't know much or really anything about dating but I do know that this was no doubt the worst first date ever.

I sat there for a moment or two after he left. The waitress came back with our drinks and asked if I wanted to order. I declined and just asked for the bill. I guess I was paying.

Once I got back to my apartment I immediately called Emmett.

"Hello?" He answered.

"So… just had my _date_ with Jasper," I replied instantly.

"How was it, man?" He asked excitedly.

"Well remember how we were supposed to meet at seven?" I asked and he confirmed, "It's now seven thirty-five," I flopped down on my couch.

"Oh," is all he responded with.

"Yeah, exactly."

"Okay, so it went kind of crappy," he concluded.

"Not kind of crappy, really crappy. He was a complete dick, left before our drinks even got there and for the fifteen minutes he was there got defensive about anything and every I said while poking jabs at me and the fact I was pre-med," I ran my free hand over my face sighed, "You do realize I hate you for this, right?"

"I'm sorry, bud. Jasper can be a littler temperamental, but I have no idea what his deal was tonight. Sorry it didn't work out," Emmett said sincerely.

"Just don't ever set me up again. Ever. Just because I'm gay doesn't mean every other gay man out there is my soul mate," I started to hear the lock at the front door being fumbled with.

"Okay, deal. I gotta go, Eddie but I'll talk to you later. I'm sorry, again."

"It's okay, just don't play cupid and stop calling me Eddie and we're good."

"'Kay, see ya," the line went dead and a few seconds later Ben came through the front door. When he saw me he smirked and dropped his knapsack.

"So… how was the big date?" He asked. I got up and walked passed him to my bedroom, I had some homework to do anyways.

"I don't want to talk about it."

**March 25th****2033**

"Oh my God, PJ! You were terrible!" Lily baffled.

"What was up your fanny?" Oliver asked mockingly Jasper.

"I had had a really bad day plus Emmett didn't tell me about the blind date until two hours before I was supposed to be there so I wasn't on my A game. Sorry, folks," Jasper sat back down at the cleared off table and folded his arms across his chest.

"And you smoked? I didn't know that." Lily asked with disappointment in her voice. Because of her health condition since birth, Jasper and I have been big advocated of healthy living to our children.

"Yes, I was a smoker until about 2001. Your father here mended my ways," Jasper smirked at me from across the table.

"I simply refused to kiss you after you had a cigarette until you had brushed your teeth," I stated.

"Which got a little annoying when we were out and nowhere near a toothbrush," Jasper concluded.

"So how did you go from you being a huge ass and Pop E never wanting to see you again to… well now?" Oliver asked.

"It's a long grueling story than spans over almost seven years," I told them.

"But we got over the initial hatred after a party Uncle Emmett hosted later that month," Jasper explained.

"Wow you actually went to a single party in university Pop E? I didn't know you were so fun!" Oliver teased.

"Ha ha. It was Emmett's twenty-third birthday so I made an exception," I defended myself, "And it wasn't the _only_ party I went too in university."

"Quick: how many parties did you attend in total through the 8 years you were in university and med school?" Oliver shot at me.

I hesitate for a moment, already knowing the exact number in my head. Before I could open my mouth I'm interrupted, "Thirteen!" Jasper answers on a whim. I turned and stared at my husband in shock, "I have known you for thirty-four years Edward, I think it's safe to say I know you," I shook my head and laughed in disbelief.

"Really, Ollie? You don't wanna' know what happened at that party?" Lily asked.

"I mean, kind of, but do I want to hear them gush about how much they love each other in the end? No," Jasper and I laughed at that.

"I think it's kind of sweet, Dads. I mean, keep whatever it is you two do behind closed doors, which in my mind is colouring so please don't tell me otherwise, to yourselves, but the story of you guys falling in love? I don't think I've ever heard it from beginning to end before," Lily smiles at us from across the table.

Looking over at my gorgeous husband, I find an unstoppable smile spread across my face, which is then mirrored on his. His eyes meet Lily's again and he takes a breath.

"Okay, Lil. Where do you want us to start?" He asks. I can see Oliver smirk from the corner of my eye while Lily gets this gleeful look on her face.

"I want to know what happened at uncle Emmett's twenty-third birthday party." She states.

Jasper caught my gaze again and I knew this was going to take longer than the time we had tonight before bedtime. Our story was a rocky one that had plenty of love, loss, happiness and heartbreak in it. It was a story that was still being written even nearly thirty-four years later.

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**Please review, I really want to hear what you guys think so far.**


	2. So…What Happened At The Party?

**AN: Hooray for chapter 2!**

**Thank you everyone who commented on the first chapter, I hope this story lives up to your expectations!**

**I now have a beta, faite-comme-moi, and she is _amazing_**. **Trust me when I tell you that this chapter would have been _all_ over the place had she not gone over it. I look forward to working with her through this story :)**

**I'm still not sure on a posting schedule but chapter 3 is finished and just waiting to be proof read while chapter 4 is on its way so you shouldn't have to wait years for the next chapters.**

**This story is rated M for a reason with slash so if you don't like it or can't handle it then don't read.**

**SM owns these characters I just borrow them.**

**March 25th 2033 **– So…What Happened At The Party? _JPOV_

Reciting the story of how Edward and I met, got together and fell in love to our two beautiful children is simply the best way to begin our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. We have told them snippets of our life together through their lives but Lily was right; we had never sat down and told them from beginning to end our entire tale.

Although our relationship hasn't always been a walk in the park, I've never regretted one moment of our life together, even though things got really ugly at times.

Edward was a man of science with his eyes always on the prize of becoming a surgeon. Time and time again in our early days this put a wedge between us and even drove us completely apart. But I can't blame all of our problems solely on him. I am to blame for many of our tough patches as well. I have come to accept that I am rather hot-headed and have a hint of trust issues.

"Oh! And I want to know why you were such a brat on your date!" Lily added, breaking me out of my thoughts. She brought one of her feet up to sit on the chair as she rested her chin on her knee.

"Well, then we'll be killing two birds with one stone here. Jas, you start. I'm going to grab some wine." Edward got up from the table and left the dining room for the kitchen.

Although Lily was still only twenty, we had a liberal alcohol policy in our family. When our children turned to their late teens, Edward and I decided to practice safe and responsible drinking rather than prohibiting the act all together. We told them to never drink on an empty stomach, to never get behind the wheel under the influence or in a car with someone else that had been drinking and to always call us if they were in trouble, no matter what time. As long as they kept up their grades and didn't make poor decisions regarding alcohol and drugs, we were fairly tolerant towards their underage drinking.

"It was, if I remember correctly, only about two weeks after our date that Emmett had his birthday party," I started.

**March 20th 1999**

I could already hear the music pounding behind the closed door of Emmett's apartment. Chuckling to myself, I let myself in and was immediately blasted with that song, "Ignition." People in the living room were already quite tipsy as they screamed along with the words of the popular song.

Moving through the apartment, I found the kitchen where Emmett and my sister were hanging out with friends.

"Jas, man!" Emmett bellowed as he pulled me into a one-armed man hug. Letting go of me, I then had my sister's arms wrapped around me.

"Hey, baby brother," she laughed into my ear. It appeared I needed to catch up with the rest of this party on the drinking front. "You're late!" She said as she pulled away from me.

"Rose, it's only ten thirty; the night is young," I replied while taking out the 500 ml of rum from my jean jacket, "Happy Birthday, big guy." I broke open the top of the bottle and took a swig.

"Thanks, man," Emmett said, putting an arm around my shoulders. Emmett was a large man, my height but way more in shape than I. He was on a football scholarship at the university but was majoring in Political Science. His theory was, even if he made it all the way pro and then got injured, he didn't want football to be the only thing he was good at; so his back up career was to become a lawyer. He had a 3.5 GPA, which was pretty impressive for someone who was already fully committed to an extra curricular activity.

He and Rosalie were both in their last year of college. Rosie had just turned twenty-two the month prior while today was Emmett's twenty-third birthday. Emmett took a year off in between his first and second year because his father had gotten really sick and died. When he returned to school for his second year, Rosalie was in one of his elective classes and they became close friends. For months, while Emmett still grieved for his father and Rosie helped him move forward, they remained simply friends. It was the end of their second year when they decided to explore their feelings and become a couple.

This being my first year, it was nice having people I already knew and felt comfortable around. I hadn't really made a lot of friends in my own year but I was soon going to have to; both Rosie and Emmett were no longer attending the university next year. They were both moving to California as Emmett had been drafted to play pro for the San Francisco 49ers there and for Rosie to get her bachelors degree at Stanford in Communications.

"Let me get you a shot glass," Emmett offered as he started rummaging around his cupboards.

In an attempt to get me to socialize more with younger folk, Emmett had so helpfully set me up on a blind date two weeks prior. He, Rosalie, my roommate Tyler and the few random hookups that I'd had were the only people on this planet who knew I was gay. Rosie and I were both from Louisiana and with strict Christian parents, it was easy to see why coming out to the world wasn't number one in my day planner under Goals.

The date was a disaster. Then again, I was having one of the worst days imaginable; by the time I showed up I was ready to pull someone's face off. So I blew off the guy, big deal. He was pretty hot, though. That reddish-brown hair that stood up in all directions and his strong jaw line had definitely provided great shower jack-off material the following morning.

Filling the shot glass, which was put in front of me, I quickly downed the contents. Taking two more, I turned back to the kitchen and laughed at Emmett using a funnel to chug his beer as fast as humanly possible.

"You sure know how to pick 'em, Rosie," I shouted across the room. She winked and raised her beer in my direction. I laughed and turned towards the living room, rum bottle still in hand, to check out the rest of the party. It appeared to be the regular crowd of randoms whom I mostly didn't know, sloshing around drunkenly to the recent top 40 mix CD.

"Jasper, hey!" I looked over and saw Eric, a friend of Emmett's, making his way to me.

"Hey, man. How's it going?" We bumped alcohol containers and each took a swig.

"Not bad, my friend. Gearing up for finals but that's about it. This is probably the last time I'll be going out before I need to be lame and buckle down."

"I hear ya. This is your last year, right?" I asked. _Yet another person I would probably lose contact with after this year. I've really got to make my own friends_.

"Yeah, got accepted to the Engineering Master's program at Duke so, North Carolina, here I come!"

"Wow, congratulations!" We each took another shot in celebration.

"Thanks I- oh hey, my girlfriend just got here," I turned to see Lauren enter the room. _Awful girl_. "Catch up later?" He passed me and headed off toward her, leaving me alone in a room filled with people. Taking a glance around, I headed towards the dining room where a full-on beer pong game was in full fledge.

"Bro, you and me. Next round!" Emmett shouted across the room towards me. I was pretty good at this game, but nowhere as good as Emmett. It was safe to say that after this round I would be pretty sloshed.

* * *

My face was numb and felt like it was on fire at the same time, one of the tell-tale signs that I was indeed drunk and on my way to becoming a complete wreck, which I didn't mind. Emmett had sunk his Ping-Pong balls in all of my cups nearly instantly and my earlier shots were starting to catch up with me.

Looking around the room I realized that, if I didn't want to be puking my guts out for the rest of the evening, I'd better cool it for a bit.

"You look like you're having a good time," Rosie plunked down beside me on the couch while handing me a glass of water.

"Thanks, and yeah, I am. I'm going to miss you guys next year," I said, feeling the verbal filter falling out of place already.

"You'll make new friends and forget all about this," she bumped her shoulder into mine lightly.

"I don't know. I kind of hate people," I smirked at her.

She snorted and rolled her eyes, "So I've heard. Hey, what happened with that, anyways? All I heard from Em was that you were just a huge dick." Ah, yes; the date again.

"My bathroom had flooded that afternoon, I had received a crappy grade on this paper I worked really hard on and Mama was on my ass about some stuff that really pushed my buttons. So by the time I made it to that restaurant, I just wanted to get in and out as fast as possible. Oh! And you're loving boyfriend didn't even tell me about the date until a few hours before. So…it was bad news bears." I shrugged. I felt bad about the way I had acted, but that was really the worst day to be going on date with someone.

"What was Mama bugging you with?" she asked softly over the music.

I hesitated a moment before muttering, "Girl stuff." Immediately, her lips formed an 'O' in understanding. I swear; if I heard one more time from my parents about bringing a nice Christian girl home from school I might hit something. Even though Emmett wasn't exactly what our parents had wanted for Rosie, the fact that he was in line to go pro next year sure was nice to hear. Football was in huge in the south.

"Well… I'll tell her to back off, 'kay? I'll just mention that you're really tied up with school and don't need the added stress," she patted my back to soothe my anxiety.

"Thanks," I said. It was so easy to dwell on the oversensitive feelings of rejection from my parents but, instead, I settled for the more physically obvious – I really had to pee. "Well Rosie, great bonding session but I gotta go break the seal." She laughed as I got up and made my way to the bathroom.

There was no line so I went right in, did my business and washed my hands. After turning the taps off, I looked at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed from drinking and my eyelids looked a little droopy. Splashing some cold water on my face, I took in my appearance again, this time simply looking into my own grey-blue eyes and evaluating what I saw. I was definitely drunk; this self-soul searching into a mirror was bull but I found myself doing it anyway.

I never got when people said "I could just see it in their eyes." What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Eyes were eyes. Some were blue, others green, others brown. Sometimes the pupil was bigger, sometimes smaller. Emotions were never portrayed in eyes; I can totally vouch for that because looking into my own eyes I just saw what they were: eyes. If eyes revealed true emotions then I would be looking directly into confused, angry, saddened eyes, but I wasn't.

_I. Am. Drunk._

Looking away from the mirror, I glanced around the room and wondered how long I had been staring at myself. There wasn't any pounding on the door, so that was good, but I decided I had better get out of there before I drowned in my own mental drunken haze.

Splashing some water on my face once again, I dried it with the towel hanging off the back of the door then opened it to leave the room. The moment the door opened I was met with a very familiar face and messy hair.

"I was just about to- oh," his hand was raised in the air as if he was about to knock on the door. When he met my gaze, recognition crossed his face.

"Edward, right?" I asked.

"Yeah; surprised you remember." He sounded a little bitter. I deserved it.

"Well, uh, I'll let you by." I moved to the left as he pushed past me into the bathroom then slammed the door. Shaking my head, I started walking back down the hall towards the living room. As I got further away a sinking feeling slowly started to rise in my stomach and, no; I was not going to puke. I really had been a huge dick to this guy, and for the life of me I had no idea why I felt this need to at least apologize.

Turning back, I waited outside the bathroom and leaned my head against the wall because it felt very heavy. This would be great. I would apologize then _everyone_ (meaning Emmett and Rosalie) would get off my back.

When the door opened again, I saw that he was slightly shocked to see me standing there.

"Um… did you forget something?" he asked.

"Yeah. I forgot to apologize to you."

His eyebrows rose dramatically. "What?"

"I was a complete asshat on that date and I'm really sorry. My day was shit and I took it out on you and you didn't deserve it and I'm sorry and I hope maybe we could be friends or something 'cause that would be cool and I hope you accept this apology…"

Suddenly he was laughing.

"What?"

"You are _wasted_."

"Doesn't matter." I put my hands on his shoulders for dramatic effect, "I really am sorry, 'kay?"

He chuckled again, "Okay. I forgive you."

I lightly hold a fist up in the air, "Awesome."

"Let's head back. I'll get you a… glass of water." He laughed again and it was a really nice laugh.

"So. How do you know Emmett?" I asked as we walked back towards the living room.

"He took a math class last year and I was his tutor." His voice raised a little as we made it to the centre of the party.

"Ah, yes; forgot that you're a genius," I commented casually. Med student, that was kind of hard-core.

"Hey!" He said defensively.

"Oh psh, it's a compliment." I patted his back and he laughed, but it was different that time, almost like he was uncomfortable.

"You sit down; I'll get you something to drink." He gestured towards the recently deserted couch and then walked away towards the kitchen.

Sitting down, I looked across the room and noticed there were definitely less people there than before. Fixing my eyes on the clock, I saw that it was almost 2AM. Whoa. Time really does fly when you're… _done_.

Suddenly Edward was beside me and handing me a bottle of water. "Thanks," I said then took a huge gulp.

"No problem." He took a drink of his own auburn drink.

"So, tell me about yourself, Edward." I had some making up to do. He seemed like a cool, very good-looking guy; why not get to know him?

He turned to look at me and half scoffed, half chuckled, "Generally, or would you like to narrow down that broad question of yours?"

"General for now. I dunno; where you grew up and shit." Oh, lovely; I could hear the Southern accent coming out.

"Well, I'm from Forks, about a three hour drive from here. My father is a general surgeon while my mother is an interior designer. I have a sister, her name is Alice and she's eighteen and in her last year of high school back home. How about you?"

"I'm from Zachary, Louisiana, which is just outside of Baton Rouge. I'm sure you've met Rosie, my older sister." He nodded. "Ma' Daddy is a retired general for the army and now owns a cattle ranch while ma' Mama works part time on the ranch and part time as a secretary for the local police station. Basically, we're just _really_ southern." I added with a forced southern drawl.

"That's cool. I've only ever been to parts of Texas but I've heard Louisiana is beautiful," he added politely.

"New Orleans is beautiful. God it's just a skip away to the water and the food is wonderful, but small town Louisiana? There is a reason I moved across the country for college." I looked at him pointedly and he nodded in understanding. I didn't have to say that it was because I was gay.

"I kind of know what you mean," he added quietly. We were silent for a moment. It wasn't awkward, or at least I didn't realize if it was.

"So, I never see you at any of these little…shindigs," I commented.

"Well I am very focused on my studies but it's Emmett's twenty-third birthday _and_ after this I have to start prepping for finals so I thought 'why not?'" He raised his cup to me then finished what was in it.

"That's the spirit! And yeah, I think this is the last big thing for a lot of people here," I said before taking a drink from my water, which was almost empty.

"You're first year, right?" When I confirmed, Edward continued, "Shouldn't you be getting wasted every night, with a different… hook-up in your bed and absent from every class only to finally realize that your final is a week away and you haven't even bought the textbook?" Edward asked with a smirk on his face. God, he was gorgeous.

"Oh, because I'm such a fuck up?" I placed a hand on my chest, "I'm really wounded."

"No; because isn't that first year college student protocol?"

"Is that what you did?" I bit back.

"Nope." He shook his head.

"How old are you?"

"I'll be twenty in June," he said.

"Well, me neither, genius boy; although I do like at least one night out a week. I _am_ a university student after all. You, on the other hand, are another breed of college student." I laughed at the 'hurt' look on his face.

"Education is the key to success," he stated and I burst out laughing.

"Oh, wow, okay." I was laughing really hard because, I swear to god I had read that slogan on a banner sometime during my childhood and this guy had repeated it to me as if it was his life motto.

"Come on, knowledge is power!" He did a punch into the air and I rolled my eyes while continuing to try and control my laughter. I looked over and saw that his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were a little droopy. I was sure he'd been drinking as well and I was kind of taken away with how hot he was. He turned to look at me and, suddenly, I was met with his deep green eyes, almost forest green, and they were amazing.

We stared at each other for a moment and then I lost his eyes because he was looking down at my lips, which I had subconsciously moistened with my tongue. Meeting his gaze again, I realized that we were both leaning in a bit and I found myself really wanting to kiss him.

Suddenly, I realized that we were still in an open room with people and I pulled back to look around. Hearing him sigh he said, "I'll um- I'll be right back," and then Edward was walking away from me. I followed him with my eyes, immediately appreciating his ass. It fit perfectly in his light jeans and god, I wanted it.

I'd had hook ups over the past few months that I'd been in university. I'd never seen my virginity as a big deal and I've never regretted how I lost it. It was with a guy I had previously hooked up with, Peter, and he was great, making me feel comfortable and safe through everything. We'd hooked up twice by Em's birthday but that was the most our interaction had reached.

Watching Edward's ass walk away, down the hall towards the bathroom, I found myself swallowing the saliva that was suddenly in my mouth. I felt like everything was warm and fuzzy. My mind kept going back to his face, eyes, lips and his ass, oh my god, his ass. Great, my dick had now tuned into the conversation.

Looking towards the hallway leading to the bathroom, I felt flush as lust radiated through my entire body. I found myself lifting off the couch and walking down the hallway to the closed door at the end. Waiting outside of the bathroom, I didn't really know what was going to happen when he opened the door. God I wanted him, though. I hadn't been with anyone in a while and I could've really used a hot release. And Edward was damn sure hot.

The doorknob started jiggling and for a white blazing second I was nervous because I didn't know what I was going to do when the door opened. All I knew was that I wanted him. Then it was open and we were standing face to face and Edward was about to say something and I just grabbed him and my lips were on his. It was hard and hot and his hands were in the air in shock. I started pushing him back into the small bathroom when he finally wrapped one hand to the back of my neck and the other to my back. I grabbed his ass with both hands and kicked the door closed with my foot.

**March 25th 2033**

"Please. Stop. Please. God, it's like a corny romance novel with Fabio on the cover. But worse," Oliver complained while covering his face with his hands.

"Yeah… I didn't sign up for that part," Lily said, finishing off her second glass of wine. "Colouring, remember? Co-lou-ring," she enunciated, pointing in the direction of our bedroom.

Edward and I laughed.

I caught Edward's gaze from across the table and it was like being transported back to Emmett's grungy couch all over again. His eyes were green as ever, even after all this time. I still couldn't see emotions in them, because they _were_ just eyes, but I could always read his facial expressions like an open book. Right now, I could tell that he was thinking back to what had happened behind that closed bathroom door.

**March 20th 1999**

Using my grip on his fine ass, I whipped Edward around the minute we were in the bathroom so he was pinned against the door. I ran my tongue across his bottom lip and I heard him let out a shaky breath. Running my hands up his sides then sprawling my fingers up and across his chest, he opened his mouth to meet my tongue.

Tentatively, I felt his hands start to run up and down my chest and back and my senses were extremely heightened when he slipped his hands under my shirt a bit to play with the hair above my jeans. I started realizing that his kisses were fairly sloppy, not the best, but it didn't matter because I was then moving my lips across his cheek and down his throat.

My cock was actually pulsing in my jeans. I needed this. Fuck. And his light finger touches on my stomach were not helping.

Reaching for the hemline of his t-shirt, I think I literally ripped it up, over and off Edward's body. I continued kissing down his throat and moved down his chest until I was on my knees in front of him. Although I loved receiving head, I had a new appreciation for giving it ever since I learned some skill in the oral-giving department.

I ran my tongue around his belly button while I unbuttoned his jeans and pulled down his zipper.

"Ja- Jaspe…" I heard his voice break as I pulled the flaps of his jeans apart and shoved my face into his boxer-clad heat. While opening my mouth and slowly breathing hot air onto his apparently large mass, I pulled his jeans down his legs. Next, using my hands to remove his boxers, I only allowed myself a moment to take in his member before I began running my tongue from base to tip and back.

After a few rounds, I finally began to lightly suck on the head. I heard a broken gasp come from above and, suddenly, his fingers were tangled lightly in my hair. Covering my teeth with my lips, I slowly started to sink onto his length and, trust me, there was length. He wasn't as thick as me, but for sure longer. The fingers in my hair tightened as I relaxed my throat and allowed him to slip further in.

"Oh, god. Ah!" I swallowed and bobbed my head once. "Oh, fuck," Edward cursed and then I heard him inhale sharply, felt his back bow against the door and all at once the back of my throat was being shot with his warm come. I might have been drunk, but that was way fast. Continuing to lightly bob as his legs began shake a bit, he came down from his high.

I swallowed everything. Swallowing doesn't appeal to me but it doesn't disgust me so it was just more convenient to swallow. Releasing him, I rose to stand in front of him and saw that one of his hands was stuck in his hair and he was staring up at the ceiling. Resting my hands on his chest I kissed his neck. "Hey, what's up?"

"I'm sorry, I- I've never…" Edward stuttered and it suddenly made sense.

I chuckled lightly. "Well, was your first blow job good?" I asked cockily.

"Amazing. Thank you," he turned his head to kiss me.

"No problem darlin'," I drawled between kisses. His hands roamed my chest and suddenly they were pulling my shirt up. "Edward, you don't have to." _Please do, though._

"It's okay. I want to." He pulled my shirt off and began to unbutton my jeans. After helping him pull them and my boxers off, my heavy cock sprung up and I heard him swallow.

Bringing the hand that wasn't resting on my chest up to his mouth, he coated it in saliva then brought it to my cock and coated it in the makeshift lube.

"Feels good," I whispered as my head fell to his shoulder. My hands reached up and entangled themselves into his messy locks.

As his speed became faster, and with increased pressure, my hips began to thrust into his hand as I realized my orgasm was approaching. Turning my head, I sucked hard on Edward's collarbone as I got closer and closer.

"Fuck. Good," I choked out. I was drunk and horny, and this was gonna be over soon.

His hand started to flick over my head and I think I let out a bit of a cry as I exploded on his hand, my stomach and his stomach. My fingers were gripped like iron in his hair and my legs were shaking as he continued to pump me lightly.

Finally, I sunk a little into him and he wrapped both of his arms around me. I felt him laugh in relief and kiss the side of my head. I let out a carefree laugh because I had just come and life was fabulous.

Finally realizing we were covered in jizz, I slowly stood up and reached for the toilet paper roll, ripping off a large amount. Handing him some, I wiped off my stomach and dick as he wiped off his stomach. We then quickly changed places, shuffling as our pants were around our thighs, and he washed his hands while I tucked myself back in and pulled up my pants.

Edward was looking at me through the mirror and I winked at him before I reached down to grab our shirts. Coming up behind him, I wrapped my arm around his chest, pressing his shirt into his chest and kissed the back of his neck.

"Thanks," I murmured then slipped my shirt back on and headed out the door.

_That was fun_.

**March 2033**

"Come on kids; it was a beautiful union of two souls." Edward teased.

"It was a drunken hook up. Wow, you guys were sloppy fools," Oliver said. "But that's it? That's how you guys got it on? That's crazy. I thought you guys got together way later."

"Oh, we did," I confirmed. "You're right. It was a drunken hook up."

"My fathers, the sluts." Oliver smirked.

"A few days after that night we ran into each other on campus and decided to go out for coffee. We quickly became good friends, actually," Edward added.

"Babe, you and I both know it was more like friends with benefits." I winked at him from across the table.

"Well, it was the end of the semester and neither of us wanted anything serious because we were both going back home for the summer." Edward continued.

"But at the end of April, as we didn't have the technology we have today, we promised to write and email each other and, for then, that was that." I sighed. "It really wasn't serious then at all. I mean we didn't even," I looked at Lily, "colour outside of the lines."

"You were a virgin, Pop E?" she asked.

"I was, until my third year of college," he declared.

"Wait a minute. PJ, didn't you go on exchange sometime during college?" Lily asks.

"Yes. I went to John Cabot University in Rome for my second year." I confirmed.

"Okay, instead of us blindly guessing what happened for the rest of the story, why don't you two just continue with the story," Oliver sighs.

"Well, earlier that semester I had applied to go on exchange but was still unsure about it even before I got the acceptance letter," I continued. "But when I did, I contemplated it and, with encouragement from Aunt Rosie, Uncle Em, and even your father, I accepted. God, even my parents thought it was a good idea," I sighed.

"Anyway, I went to Italy for a year and it was bliss. I learned so much and got to take trips all over Europe because flights are so cheap over there. It was an experience I'll never forget." I looked over to Edward before speaking the next part. He knew what was coming and even though he was accepting of everything in my past, it still made him slightly uncomfortable when I talked about this. "I also fell in love."

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Is this that Alec guy?" Lily wondered.

"Yes. Alec and I were together for pretty much the entire time I was in Italy. It killed me at the time to have to move back to the States at the end of my exchange."

Alec and I had met through acquaintances at school. Although he didn't attend the International University, his friend, Aro, did and Aro was in many of my classes as he was a history major as well. Alec was a gorgeous Italian with dark brown hair, golden skin and passionate as fuck. We kicked it off right away and, within a month or so of being in Rome, were already in a somewhat exclusive relationship. I had fallen hard for him, fast. He was funny and smart and we taught each other our native languages throughout our year together. That was all we had; a year.

Leaving Alec because my exchange was over was heart breaking. We tried for months before I left to figure out a way to stay together; him coming to American, me staying in Italy or even doing long distance, but financial statuses and visa permits disabled us from continuing our relationship, and long distance was just too painful. I was a wreck for months after I left Italy.

To this day, though, I received the random email from Alec here and there. We had managed to reconnect when Facebook went online and have been casual friends ever since. He now lived in London with his partner and three children.

"That sucks," Oliver offered.

"Meanwhile," Edward continued hesitantly, "I was back here in my third year of university and studying my ass off towards med school."

"Typical," Oliver said.

"Really, Pop E? Did you at least enjoy some parts of university?" Lily asked.

"Well, I did go out a few times with friends and dated off and on, slept with a few people, nothing ever serious, but mostly I was focused on my studies," he shrugs.

"So you came back from Italy, heartbroken, and…what?" Oliver asked.

"Okay, this is when I thought you two really got together," Lily pointed out.

"Yes, and no," Edward stated.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"Why don't we move this to the living room, get more comfortable?" Edward suggested as he got up.

"I agree; the next part is a little rocky," I said and stood up.

"Yeah, sounds good, but pee break first, 'kay?" Oliver asked rhetorically before getting up and walking down the hall towards the bathroom.

"I'll go start the dishwasher," Lily said as she got up to leave for the kitchen.

I smiled as Edward walked around the table towards me. "Hey," I whispered.

"Hey," he whispered back. Suddenly he was in my arms and pressing a kiss to my throat. "God, I love you," he moaned.

"Love you too, babe. So much." I rubbed his back and kissed his forehead.

"When you two are done making out in there, I wanna hear the rest of the story! Any time now!" We heard Lily yell from the living room and we laughed.

Taking my hand, Edward led me into the living room but not before letting out a yelp as I gave his ass a playful smack.


	3. What Happened When You Got Back?

**REALLY IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END, TRUST ME.**

**All rights reserved to SM**

**Chapter Three** – What Happened When You Got Back? _EPOV_

**March 25th 2033**

"And for the love of god, please tell me you guys don't lose it and jump each other the moment you are reunited in the fall," Oliver stated as he flopped down on the couch.

"We do not jump each other the moment we're reunited," Jasper confirmed as we both sat down on the couch across from him.

"We actually don't even really get together until much, _much_ later that year," I added.

"From what I've gathered over the years, you guys got together around this time then were apart for a bit, then got back together and that's it, right?" Lily was trying so desperately to put all the pieces together.

"Why don't we just continue with the story, okay?" Jasper suggested.

"When you two retire, you should write a novel on your epic romance and sell it for millions because this story is ace so far." Our son, the ever-charming comedian.

"Shut up, Ollie!" Lily threw a pillow at his head from where she was sitting in the sofa chair.

"Now, now children. Stop fighting. Use your words," Jasper said mockingly while resting his arm leisurely over my shoulders along the back of the couch.

"You're the worst," Oliver teased as he threw the pillow back to Lily.

"Maybe I should just start and they can tune in whenever they want," I murmured to Jasper, who laughed.

"No! We're listening." Lily sat up, crossing her legs while she hugged the pillow to her chest.

**October 18th 2000**

My senior year had not been treating me nicely so far. Long lab hours led to long study hours and very little sleep. I was so close to getting my undergrad but they sure did make you work for it. But my hard work had paid off as it looked like I was going to graduate at the top of my class. My father would be very pleased.

For the rest of the week I had vowed that I would take it easy as I had just finished my last midterm and had no reports or labs due for another two weeks. I deserved a break.

Making my way out of the biology building, I put my headphones over my head and pressed play on my diskman. Just as I stepped on to the sidewalk I literally ran into someone and stumbled backwards.

"Crap! Sorry!" I whipped my headphones off and looked up to meet a very familiar pair of grey-blue eyes and beach blond hair, "Jasper?"

"Hey, Edward," he smiled tentatively. He looked amazing with his hair a little shorter but still a disaster and a glowing tan still hugging his skin.

"How are you?" I pulled him into a soft hug, which he returned before I released him.

"Good; just heading to class. How about you?"

"Good! I just finished my last midterm so I'm off to go home and sleep." I laughed a bit; God, I was tired. It was so good to see him.

After Emmett's birthday party, I was thoroughly confused. I had never done anything with anyone before and after my first intimate anything with Jasper he just left. I had later realized that night was just a 'hook up' for him. A few days later I had run into him at a local coffee shop and we actually sat down and got to know each other better. Sober.

The semester was then soon coming to an end and we found ourselves in this limbo between friends and blowjob buddies. It was easy and carefree and exactly what I needed at the time without realizing it. When summer came and we parted ways, along with my other minimal friends, we promised each other to write and email to keep in touch, and we did. I slowly found out over the summer the stress his family put on him and observed how it discouraged him to know he would never please them.

Then, in July I got the email saying he had been accept to a university in Rome, Italy for an exchange. He asked me what I thought about it and even sent me the web site for the school. It looked like an amazing opportunity and, although part of me wanted him to come back to UW for personal reasons, I could not deny that this was perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity. So I sent him an email back the following day congratulating him and telling him he should for sure go for it. Two days after that I heard that he had accepted and was already to beginning to pack.

When I got back to school that fall, it was like I had this new found confidence and I thank Jasper for that. I lived alone for the first time, Ben had moved in with his girlfriend, and I decided to join the on campus gay-straight alliance club. It was there I met people that I knew I would be my friends for a very long time. The club definitely broadened my horizons and allowed me to have a unique group of friends to hang out with when my studies allowed. They even convinced me to go to a few gay-centric bars where I indeed made out with and 'hooked up' with a few random guys.

One of the club members and I had become extremely close throughout the year. He was my confidante and our friendship was very important to me. He was also the man I lost my virginity to. We knew that we were both virgins and it was actually my suggestion that we lose it together, where we feel safe and secure. Paul is still a very good friend of mine and I'm happy I got to share that moment of my life with him. His new boyfriend, Jake, is great and, from what I can tell, there are no jealousy issues with us still being friends.

Over the year, Jasper and I had exchanged emails and postcards so I heard all about his schooling, Rome and Alec. He'd even sent me a few pictures in the mail and I was truly happy for him. Since August, though, we'd exchanged few emails. I knew he was back at UW but he didn't mention Alec or what had happened. He also didn't propose meeting up so I concluded that he was just busy getting back into the swing of things.

We stared at each other for a moment, just taking it in. Jasper fidgeted nervously, taking a drag from the cigarette that he was apparently smoking. "So, what have you been up to since getting back from Italy?" I offered.

"Nothing really, just getting acclimatized," he said while looking at his watch, "I'm sorry, I'm going to be late for class but do you maybe want to grab dinner some time? Catch up?"

I was a bit taken back.

"Um… sure! How about Friday?" I smiled at the prospect.

"Sounds good! I'll message you, figure out time and place?" He had already begun to walk around me to continue to his class. I nodded and agreed. "Great. See you then, Edward!" He waved then turned to walk away.

And just like that Jasper Whitlock stumbled right back into my life.

* * *

After sleeping off and on for the next two days, I met Jasper at a small Japanese restaurant just off campus. I had been there a few times before and the food was fantastic so when Jasper emailed me wanting to know what I suggested for a meeting place it was at the top of my list.

"Hey," I greeted him as I sat down at the table where he was waiting.

"Hey, yourself," he grinned in reply. His smile was still dazzling.

"Have you had a chance to look at the menu?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go for a bento box; you get a bit of everything," he said as he closed to menu he had been reading.

"Yeah, I usually get the chicken teriyaki one."

"Cool," he smiled at me from across the table.

"Can I get you two anything to drink?" the waitress suddenly appeared. We both ordered beer and a moment later they were sitting in front of us and our food orders were placed.

"So, I know we ran into each other briefly but tell me what you've been up to. It's your last year, right?"

"Yeah, it is, and the pressure is on, believe me. It's weird to think that, in few months, I'll be a pre-med student and on my way to med school," I commented.

"Med school, huh? Have you applied anywhere yet?" he asked timidly.

I gave him a bit of a sidelong glance, "So far, Johns Hopkins and Yale but I'm considering a few other options," I shrugged.

"Like what?" he asked.

"I'm still looking into it, but hopefully something on the west coast. Something a bit closer to home."

He was looking at me a little funny.

"That's amazing, Ed," he said genuinely.

"Ed? Did you hit your head in Italy? You know I hate it when people call me that, you've seen me go all pissy on Emmett," I scolded.

At that he let out a laugh.

"Oh, I remember. Maybe I was hoping for an encore? The way you verbally bitch-slapped him was _priceless._" Taking a breather, he took a sip of beer and then let out one more laugh, "Emmy Boo-Bear. Please tell me you still call him that."

Through my laughter I managed to get out, "Oh yeah, you know it; and don't think I've forgotten my rebuttal name for you."

"Oh, no," he said in faux horror.

"Ass-hat Jazz," I smirked as he covered his face for a moment with his hands.

"Oh, man, I did forget," he was laughing as well when his eyes finally met mine. We stared at each other while our laughter died down and the fact that he was so gorgeous swiftly hit me all over again. He shook his head slightly, "You're… different."

"How so?" I pressed.

"I don't know, just different…" our eyes had never left each other.

"Different good or different bad?" I asked.

He pondered that for a moment, "I'm not sure."

The waitress was back with our boxes and we immediately dug into our food. After the first initial bites, I decided I wanted to know more about his past year, so I asked him.

"Oh, you know, it was great. Italy is beautiful and because everything is so close over there I was able to travel all over Europe during the weekends. The people in Rome are so nice and once I picked up the language life was a lot easier. For a history major like me it was a dream year," he finished with a sigh. I wanted to ask him about Alec but he hadn't mentioned him yet. I didn't want to bring up something painful.

"That sounds amazing, Jasper. I've been to Europe and you're right it's absolutely exquisite. The history there is miraculous and I'm sure you just soaked everything up."

"I sure did," he smiled and continued to pick through his bento box as I did. After a few silent moments, the curiosity was killing me so I finally had to ask.

"So, are you seeing anyone?" It came out hesitant when I wanted to sound confident.

Jasper looked up to me and swallowed whatever was in his mouth, "Edward…" he trailed off as if he didn't know what to say.

"We're friends, right? Just wanted to know." I shrugged innocently even though I knew my question was anything but.

"Right," he confirmed, "Well, no, I'm not seeing anyone." He seemed suddenly quieter.

"What happened?" I asked softly. He knew I was talking about Alec.

"What do you think, Edward?" he sighed. "He lives in Italy and I live here. When the exchange was over, I had to come back and we had to end. There was no happily ever after for us," he said with a hint of bitterness.

"I'm sorry," I offered. I really was.

He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair once before looking at me again. "It's okay. I'm sorry for being a Debbie Downer. How about you; seeing anyone?" I could tell he was trying to focus the attention away from him.

"No, not seeing anyone," I ducked my head slightly and continued to nibble on the tempura.

"What about last year, anyone special?" he pushed.

"A few dates and hook ups here and there but nothing serious. You know me, whatever my schooling allows." I rolled my eyes to myself and took a swig of my beer.

"So, genius boy, did you finally let your freak fly?" he winked at me and I definitely turned a little red.

"Yeah," I murmured. Jasper had definitely been aware that I was a virgin while we were hooking up over a year ago. He had helped me master oral skills that definitely came in handy later on.

"Well, congratulations! Does the air taste sweeter?" he teased.

"Ha. Ha. And yes it does," I said shyly while he nudged my knee under the table and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, making me laugh.

We continued with our dinner, talking about classes and our newfound friends. Jasper had a new roommate, Mike, and they were getting along well while I talked about how I was living alone for the second year and loving it. Then I brought up how I met my small circle of friends and extended acquaintances through the gay-straight alliance club.

"The people are great, Jas. I've made some very good friends through the group and it's not just a gay only club; it's for anyone really to be in a completely accepting environment. They've really helped me come out my shell over the past year or so." I was very passionate about the club and my group of friends.

"That sounds great, Edward," he sounded completely genuine.

"It really is- hey! You should come to one of our gatherings. We don't call them meetings because it's more of a group 'hang' rather than an actual club but it's done through the school." They did a lot of evening gatherings, something I know Jasper would love.

"I don't know, Edward," he sounded very uncomfortable at the idea. I wondered if it was because it was too much exposure.

"We don't have t-shirts or anything, Jasper. It just looks like a bunch of friends hanging out and having conversation. You should come to at least one and see if you enjoy it. The people are really nice and welcoming," I knew he was nervous about the prospect of coming out to the world and was still slightly uncomfortable in his own skin sometimes.

The waitress came to clear our empty plates. When she asked if we needed anything else, we let her know the check is all.

"Maybe. When is your next… outing?" he seemed mildly interested.

"Tomorrow night, if you're free?" I asked hopefully.

"Sure, why not," he nodded and my spirits soared. He was grinning at me softly and it took everything in me to not stare at his lips. There was always something flawless with Jasper's entire demeanor. His radiant witty personality was fresh and I found his complete being endearing. Now that he was back, I wondered if there was perhaps a chance for us to become something… more.

When the check came, Jasper insisted he pay as on our previous "date", the one where he had walked out, I had paid. Gathering our belongings, we headed out to the street where we walked side-by-side towards 47th Street.

"Where exactly are you living?" Jasper asked.

"Over on 16th and 50th," I commented, waiting for a specific response that I knew was coming.

"The new development? Shit, Edward, showing all of us up aren't you?" he laughed in astonishment.

"Oh, whatever. I like it," I rolled my eyes. "Where are you living?"

"42nd and Brooklyn," and I stopped dead in my tracks.

"That's in the other direction," I reminded him.

"I'll walk you to 50th and 15th then walk down for a smoke," he said casually as he continued to walk.

"Still smoking?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.

"Yes, doc, I'm still smokin' the cancer sticks," he used that drawl that he knew drove me a little crazy.

"Not gonna' say anything," I put my hands up in mock surrender and he chuckled.

"I have been considering the possibility of cutting down. Apparently, they're bad for you," he scrunched his eyebrows together and looked at me briefly, as if telling me something brand new.

"What!" I gasped as we turned onto 50th Street and headed east.

"I know! Who'da thunk it, right?" he laughed then bumped my shoulder with his. Our fingers momentarily touched and I wanted so badly to hold his hand.

"What will happen to your bad boy image?" I asked desperately but with a smile on my face.

"Hey, I said cut back, not quit. I'm still a bad boy," he reassured me.

"Oh, thank god." I put my hand over my chest and sighed dramatically.

As we approached 15th and 50th, we both slowed down to a stop on the edge of the sidewalk, "I had a lot of fun tonight, Edward," he said honestly.

"I did, too, Jasper. Now that you're back, we should make it a point to see each other." I didn't realize until tonight how much I had missed his friendship. How much I had missed him.

"Of course," he agreed, then opened his arms slightly. I immediately took the hint and stepped into his arms for a hug. My body was flush against his and I could feel his stubble against my cheek and neck and it was…_amazing_. I moved the arm that was wrapped around his neck down so that I could tangle my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck then pulled back a little.

We were but inches apart and I felt his shallow breath against my lips. His eyes were staring directly into mine and they were breath taking.

Gathering all the courage I had in my system, I used the hand anchored in his hair to pull him closer to me and his breath caught the second just before I pressed my lips to his. It was exactly as I had remembered it and yet so much better. We stood there for a moment, locked to each other by a solid, lasting kiss that made goosebumps rise on my arms because, god, it was Jasper.

I opened my mouth slightly to run my tongue along his bottom lip and was met by air. Opening my eyes, I saw that Jasper had a panicked look on his face and was backing away from me.

"Edward… I can't…" he was shaking his head and had a look of complete remorse on his face.

"It's okay… if you don- don't feel that wa-way…" I was stuttering like an idiot through my words because it hurt like hell to be rejected by him. The feelings in my stomach made me want to bend over in uneasiness and I felt like my throat was suddenly so dry.

"No, Edward… it's just that I can't… I do, want you; I'm just," he closed his eyes and took a momentary breather before looking at me again, this time a little more composed, "I'm not over Alec." The brutal honesty I was seeing and hearing left me dumbfounded. "I still love him very much, and I'm trying to figure out how to get over him and move on with my life. I'm sorry," he reached up to squeeze my arm.

"It's okay, Jasper; really," I reassured him.

"But I want to be your friend. I do like being around you and value your friendship very much. Maybe we could go to your club thing tomorrow?" I could tell he was trying to make it up to me, but it wasn't necessary.

"That'd be great, on both fronts," I agreed.

"Awesome. 'Kay, call you tomorrow?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course." I could be his friend. So he was devilishly handsome and had a winning personality but it wasn't like I was some love-struck boy. We had some history but, overall, we were friends and I could definitely work with that.

"See you tomorrow, Edward." He started walking south on 15th, adding, "And thank you."

"No problem. See you tomorrow." I gave him a wave and watched him pull out his pack of cigarettes as he walked away.

I could totally be his friend.

**March 25th 2033**

"You rejected him? Ouch," Oliver winced.

"I just really wasn't in the right frame of mind for what Pop E wanted at the time," Jasper sighed. "At least we know this story has a happy ending," he said as he leaned over to kiss my neck.

"Well, we know that already; what happened next?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"For months we were simply what we had agreed on: just friends," I said. I remembered those months clearly because, while I had tried my hardest to have only platonic feelings towards him, I found myself instead falling in love for the first time with Jasper.

"That's lame; where's the _passion_," Oliver quickly shook his fist in the air back and forth while both Jasper and I rolled our eyes.

"Oh, the passion came later and, trust me, there was intense sexual tension throughout those months," Jasper winked at our son.

"Definitely. There were times when I thought I was just going to attack him in public places and start boning him right there." I began rubbing my right hand up and down Jasper's thigh, each time going a bit higher.

"Dads, please. I want to hear the story!" Lily whined.

"Oh, this is definitely part of the story," I reassured her.

"Ugh, are you guys going to start groping like teenagers on the couch now? Reliving the moments? 'Cause I'm leaving if you are," Oliver was already standing.

I laughed and used my left hand to crane Jasper's neck so his lips met mine and, unlike the story, there was no way he was going to push me away. Jasper immediately leaned his body over mine and grabbed my hips with his hands.

"Peace," Oliver said.

"Bah! You guys ruin everything!" Lily moaned dramatically as she got up to walk away.

I began to sink backwards to lie down as Jasper crawled on top of me, both of us laughing while we attempted to kiss heatedly. "Your father is a hot piece! I can't help myself!" I choked out between my laughter as both our children removed themselves from the scene.

"Get a room!" Oliver yelled back, followed by two doors slamming. Then Jasper and I were full on making-out. I ran my hands from his neck down his back and grabbed his ass in both hands, grinding his pelvis down to meet my now growing erection.

His lips moved down to my neck and he greedily began to suck on my pulse point, which resulted in me bucking my hips upwards. Our legs were tangled together and our hands began roaming each other. I wanted so badly to rip his clothing off and on any other day I would have, but the kids were home and _that_ kind of behavior was inappropriate.

Jasper moved his lips back up to mine and I quickly plunged my tongue into his mouth while he moved his hands up to cup my neck and cheeks. Slowly, he pulled away and rested his forehead on mine as we panted into each other's faces.

"Twenty-five years, Edward. I can't believe it." He was staring right into my eyes, centimeters away, and I brought my hands up to cup his cheeks as well.

"I can. You and the kids make my world possible," I leaned up to press a soft kiss to his lips.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," I said.

He leaned down to Eskimo kiss me and then gave me a chase kiss on my nose, "Bed?" he whispered and I nodded. Looking over his shoulder at the clock on the bookshelf in our living room I saw that it was just after ten-thirty, which meant we had been telling our story for over three hours.

We each got up from the couch and went to our respective tasks of closing the house up. Jasper turned off all the lights and made sure the door to the garage was locked while I set the house alarm, locked up the front door and closed the blinds.

When I made it to our bedroom, Jasper was lying on his back in the middle of the bed, propping himself up on his elbows. Oh, and he was naked.

Discarding my clothing as I walked slowly over to the bed, I had only my undershirt and boxer-briefs left as I climbed on top of my man, where I was promptly met with his mouth on mine. He brought his hands to the hem of my undershirt and lazily pulled it up and over my head. Our mouths were only disconnected for a moment and, once my shirt was off, I was being flipped over onto my back.

Jasper moved his hips between my legs and started scattering kisses down my neck and chest until he lifted up completely to slip off my underwear.

For as long as I had been with Jasper, making love with him had always left me breathless and gasping for more. Sure, we'd gone through dry spells but for the most part it had always been passionate and filled with love and heat.

Tonight was no different as he rolled into me over and over again as we lay on our sides. He took me strong and sure and soon my muscles were tensing and I was releasing into his hand, spilling onto my stomach and bedspread. He followed me after a few more thrusts and I craned my neck back to kiss him.

After taking a moment to catch our breaths, he slowly pulled out of me and leaned over to retrieve a baby-wipe from our bedside table. As soon as we were all cleaned up, I rolled over to snuggle into his chest while he pulled our duvet over us.

"Twenty-five years, babe," I felt him grin as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

I moaned dramatically and then added, "Crap, we're old."

**AN: Because this story will only be 8 chapters long, the events and stories that will be told will only be the ones that are critical to how Jasper and Edward got together. Jasper and Edward's story spans a few decades and I would love to be able to give you folks snippets and glances at Jasper/Edward in the HIMYF universe outside of these critical moments.**

**I have over 100 people who have signed up for alerts to this story and only about 15% of you are reviewing.**

**So I propose that for every 80 reviews I will post a miscellaneous one-shot of their life together AFTER the story is complete.**

**Sound good?**

**I look forward to hearing what you guys think of the story so far!**


	4. When Did You Finally Get Together?

**I'm sorry this took a month to get posted. I am a full time student and this past month has been a bitch. GOOD NEWS: I've almost finished the outline for the sequel and it will be much longer than this story. I hope to work on it this summer.**

**I must thank my wonderful beta, faite-comme-moi. She whips these chapters into shape for you guys :)**

**I encourage people to go look on my profile for the images I have posted there. They'll help give you a better visual of the Whitlock-Cullen house and of Oliver and Lily.**

**Chapter Four **– When Did You Finally Get Together? – _EPOV_

March 26th 2033

"Morning," Lily said groggily as she walked into the great room.

"Morning, sweetie," I replied as she came up beside me in the kitchen area and leaned up to kiss my cheek, "Hungry? I'm making banana pancakes."

"Mmm, my favorite. Yes please," she hummed as she retrieved four plates from the cabinet before moving off to the left to set the morning nook.

"I didn't get to ask you, but how is it going with that guy you're dating?" Lily had mentioned a few times over the past two months about dating a boy named Simon. From what Jasper and I had heard so far he seemed nice.

"I dumped him." _Apparently not_. "He thought it was acceptable to scream another woman's name in the heat of passion," she sighed as she plunked down in a seat at the island in front of me.

Jasper and my parenting styles were quiet unique, even for that day and age. We believed in a more liberal, non-invasive upbringing in comparison to what was being taught in most parenting books. Unlike our childhoods, we encouraged our children to follow their passions and to explore their curiosities. We tried our best to guide them in the right direction and provide the proper tools to make their own decisions while letting them have some failures if they had set themselves up for it.

Basically, we weren't naïvely unaware that our children were sexually active.

"That sucks. I'm sorry, love," I gave her a compassionate look before flipping the two pancakes that were on the pan.

Lily shrugged, "You win some, you lose some."

"Do I smell pancakes?" Oliver entered the room while stretching his arms over his head.

"Yes, you do and they're just about done," I flipped them over one last time before going over to the oven and taking out the stack I had there staying warm. Oliver grabbed some utensils from the drawer and went to finish setting the breakfast table.

"Where's the other one?" Oliver asked, casually referring to Jasper.

"Oliver Rowen Whitlock Cullen," I pointed at him with my spatula from where I was standing with a sham of a stern face, "respect your elders!"

"Ohhh, middle names! What happened?" Jasper teased as he entered the room. He was dressed in his usual work attire, which consisted of a suit and freshly shaved face. Coming up to me, I turned to give him a light peck on the lips before he passed me for the coffee maker.

"Apparently my usual shenanigans. Bad-mouthing here, snarky comment there, the usual." Oliver shrugged as he sat down at the table.

"One day you're going to be beat over the head for that mouth of yours and we're not going to do a thing to stop it," Jasper lectured as he poured a cup of coffee.

"Sounds kinky. Where do I sign up?" And for dramatic effect he it said while looking around the room.

"What if it was me?" Lily raised an eyebrow as she walked over to the breakfast table and sat down beside him.

"Yeah… that's just weird," Oliver scratched the back of his neck.

"I agree with you on that one, my son," I said as I walked over and placed the large platter of pancakes in the middle of the table. "Voila!"

"They look amazing, Dad. Thanks," Lily praised as she and her brother dug in.

"Jas, are you going to grab some before you have to go?" I turned to look at him quickly before sitting down myself.

"I have some time, so, yes." Then he was pulling out the chair beside me and sliding onto it while lightly resting a hand on my inner knee.

"What is everyone up to today?" Jasper asked as he piled three pancakes onto his plate then drowning them in syrup.

"Gonna go meet up with Gray and Ethan and hang out now that he's in town," Oliver contributed before taking a large bite of his food. Rosalie, Emmett and their kids had flown in for our dinner the following night. Oliver and Ethan, their middle child, were very close as they were the same age.

"Rose, Sophie and Ava are coming over later today and we're going shopping," Lily continued.

"I have to go in for two quick consults this morning but then I'm heading to Grandpa and Grandma's place for lunch. Jas, are we still meeting up with Em and Rose for dinner?" I asked.

"Yup. We're going to Palomino," he confirmed. I knew he was excited to see his sister and brother-in-law as it had been a few months since the last time they had seen each other.

Emmett and Rosalie now lived in Los Angeles. Emmett had been traded a few times during his professional football career, playing for the 49ers, the Chargers and the Titans. While playing for the Titans in 2016 he sustained a major injury to his shoulder, which effectively ended his football career. Rosalie, through all of this, worked for a major PR company so she was able to move her job from city to city. After accepting his injury, Emmett and Rose moved permanently back to LA where she became a top-notch PR representative for a major entertainment corporation and he became a coach for the UCLA Bruins.

They had three beautiful children: Sophie who was almost twenty-six, Ethan who was twenty-three and Ava who was twenty-two. While our children weren't able to physically grow up together, they acquired a closeness that baffled all of us. This included Alice's son Grayden as well.

Alice had attended the Art Institute of Chicago and was now a very successful illustrator for books, magazines and newspapers nation wide. Her husband, Seth, was an architect and I could say, without a doubt, that their home was the nicest I had ever been in. While Jasper and I had decided to settle down just outside of the city in Bellevue, Alice continued to live in the heart of Seattle.

After Alice and I had finally settled in and around the Seattle area, it was only fitting that, when Mom and Dad retired, they moved closer to us. They now lived in the Bellevue area in a gorgeous house that was used to entertain frequently.

"You just have the one lecture today?" I asked Jasper.

"Yes. It's a special seminar to help the first years understand day-to-day life as a soldier of the Cold-War," he responded while taking a bite of his pancake.

"Sucks that it's on a Saturday, PJ," Oliver said.

"It won't take long. The lecture is only two and a half hours," he said easily.

Jasper was a History Professor at the University of Washington. After years of teaching high school History he went back to school, part-time so he could still work, and received his Masters then PhD in History with a focus on the American Civil War. By 2025 he was teaching as a full time professor for the university.

"When do you have to get going?" Lily asked him. Jasper looked at his watch then scrunched his lips as if evaluating the time.

"In about twenty minutes, why?" he looked back up at her.

"Well, obviously because I want to hear the rest of the story that you two ruined last night," Lily sighed, taking a drink from her orange juice.

"We didn't ruin anything; it was part of the story!" Jasper defended innocently while I chuckled to myself.

"Really? You reject Pop E. then suddenly you guys were having your way with each other on a couch?" Oliver asked skeptically.

"Well… no," I admitted, "but it was defiantly an…illustration of the love your father and I have for each other." _That wasn't very clever_.

"We know you two love each other already, that wasn't what we wanted to know," Lily stared at me pointedly.

"Okay, my darling, what do you want to know _exactly?_ You know… so we don't misinterpret your questions again," I smiled and quickly looked over to wink at Jasper.

"I want to know when you two finally put all your crap behind you and got together!" She whined like a little girl, apparently for dramatic effect.

"Okay, fine. But this is the part of the story that you two may not like," I started.

**February 9th 2001**

"Edward, seriously; you've been glued to those two hundred pound medical books for days. You need a break." Jasper sighed dramatically as he flopped down on my couch.

"Jasper, _seriously;_ my midterm is next week! I can't go out tonight." I put my highlighter down and turned around to glare at him from my small dining room table.

"It's going to be so much fun though. It's Garrett's birthday and everyone is getting together at Murphy's and I really think you should take a few hours and have some fun. You did rockin' last semester and I think you owe it to yourself to chill out with this school stuff and be a college student for a night." This was the difference between Jasper and me. While he did his fair share of studying, partying was always on his mind, even when he himself had a midterm the following week.

Lying on his back on the couch, he turned to look over at me and we stared at each other. This had been a common, awkward occurrence in the previous months since our reconciliation.

After that dinner in October, Jasper quickly became the good friend he had been previously, minus the blowjobs. Whenever I had time to socialize, which had been quickly shrinking, Jasper and I would make plans to do something.

As he had promised, he attended the club's event the following night and since then had been a recurring 'member' of our group. I knew at first he was uncomfortable with the idea of being so open about himself in the new social environment, but eventually, after a few gatherings he loosened up and became close friends with certain individuals. He had really taken to Garrett and Leah and spent a lot of his free time with them.

Now that Jasper and I had predominant mutual friends and acquaintances, I found myself always involved with Jasper whenever I had the time to hang out. It was always he and I, or he, I and the group or he, I and a few selected other people, but always him and me.

At the beginning of our newly re-found friendship, I was perfectly content with just being his friend. In October it had seemed that this dark, grey cloud was always following his emotions and personality, but since then that cloud had disappeared and cocky, smart-ass Jasper was back again. Along with the loss of the cloud came the loss of my ability to keep my thoughts about him innocent. While that cloud had been in place it was as if there was a constant reminder that he wasn't ready and was still in pain. But as he came back to me, so did my previous feelings towards him.

But those previous feelings weren't anything serious. They were just a crush and a crush I could deal with.

Soon December had come and we left on our breaks. We stayed actively in touch through email and I became a sort of support system for him throughout his family's ridiculousness.

I thought I had everything under control. The break was perfect because I got my head in order and it no longer seemed to matter that his hair was like silk and his smile was truly dashing and his eyes were like oceans because I had everything under control. Jasper needed a friend and that was exactly what I would be.

And then we came back from break. And he came over to hang out as per usual. And I realized that my feelings were no longer just a crush because hair was like silk and his smile was truly dashing and his eyes were like oceans and he was just _flawless_ and- holy fuck! I loved him. Just like that, it hit me.

I was new to the love thing. Sure, I loved my parents and my sister but this was different. Jasper was different. Every time he casually touched my shoulder or arm the skin under his touch tingled for a moment after. Whenever he laughed I was instantly laughing with him just because it made me. I strived to push his buttons when we disagreed because I loved hearing him debate something he felt truly passionate about. And I wanted to kiss him. All. The. Time.

Realizing I was in love with Jasper was a bonk on the head, and staying in love with him was effortless, but keeping it all under wraps so that I could be the _friend_ that he needed was the single most difficult thing I had ever done. From what I had gathered, we were presently in this limbo of him recovering from Alec and me being his support beam. I then myself rationalizing that Jasper knew that I wanted more from him but was keeping me at arms length until he was ready.

I wasn't completely delusional; it wasn't like I had made this all up. Since we had returned from winter break the atmosphere between Jasper and I had been different. Our gazes caught often and we found reasons to give each other small touches and the time we spent together was more secluded, either at my place or his. Jasper was starting to feel more for me; I could sense it.

But, after weeks of this tiptoe flirting, nothing had happened. I was falling even more desperately in love with this man who, for all I knew, thought of me as his best friend and nothing else.

It wasn't like I knew if he was dating anyone. It had become this sort of voo-doo topic: sex. We didn't talk about anything remotely sexual, at all. As far as I knew he hadn't been out on a single date or had a single hook-up since he returned from Italy. I don't know what I would have done with myself had I found out otherwise.

And here we were, once again, engaged in an awkward, flirtatious gaze trap that made me want to squirm out of my seat. I could feel myself already swooning into his trap of luring me out tonight. The idea of taking a break with him was exceptionally alluring.

I dropped my chin to the back of my chair, finally breaking my eyes away from his and murmured, "What time would we have to leave?"

"Yes!" He jumped up in victory, "You will not regret it, my friend. We leave at eight."

Looking over at the clock, I saw that it was now just after seven. "Okay. I'm going to study for another twenty minutes then hop in the shower. Do not distract me," I said pointedly at him. Jasper was most definitely a distraction all by himself.

"Yes, sir!" He saluted. "I'm just going to grab a smoke on the balcony while you _study_," he said in a mock English accent. I rolled my eyes and turned back towards my studies although, at that point, trying to focus on biochemistry was futile.

After twenty minutes of reading the same diagram over and over again, I got up and headed for the bathroom for my shower. Another twenty minutes later and I was clean, shaven, dressed and ready to go. I wore a pair of dark jeans and a white button-down shirt with thin, blue vertical lines running down it. It wasn't too cold out so I got out my long black pea-coat and my black leather shoes.

When I finally walked out of my bedroom, Jasper let out a low whistle from his position on my couch.

"You clean up good, bud," he complimented. Immediately, a flush came up from my neck and splashed on my cheeks.

_He thinks I'm attractive. This is good, right?_

"Yeah, well, just trying to make sure I'm the better half," I said through a chuckle while moving over to my kitchen counter to retrieve my wallet and keys.

"Hey! I look sexy-messy. It's totally hot."

_It really truly is._

"Are we taking the bus?" I asked.

"No, we're taking the private limo," he teased, slipping into his leather jacket while I rolled my eyes.

"You could just say 'yes'," I said as I put on my own coat.

"And where would the fun be in that? I love seeing you get all annoyed." He had the biggest shit-eating grin plastered on his face as he walked past me and opened my front door.

"Whatever," I huffed as I walked past him into he hallway. After I locked the door we were on our way out.

* * *

There was a live band already playing when Jasper and I walked through the door at eight-forty-five. The only way I could really describe the unknown song was as a 'pub song': smooth, with a strong beat and instantly catchy.

We made our way through the tables until we found the festivities in the back.

"You made it!" Someone said exuberantly. We both turned to see where it had come from and saw Garrett with a beer in one hand, a shot in the other and a paper princess birthday hat on his head.

"Of course!" Jasper assured him and was quickly embraced in a solid hug from Garrett. "Had to convince this one," he gestured to me as they dispersed, "but we made it."

"Edward!" The amount of over-enthusiasm he was expressing was clearly due to the fact that he was drunk. Garrett stepped up to me and pulled me into a gripping hug. "I haven't seen you in forever! You study too much!"

"I made it out tonight, didn't I?" I re-assured him as we pulled away.

"This is definitely the best party to come to. Everyone is here. Leah, Jake, Paul, Bella, Tanya…" he started listing off before Jasper cut him off.

"Why don't we take a gander around and we'll catch up in a bit?" he offered

"Perfect! I'll see you guys la…" Someone who I didn't know had come up to him and started up another conversation before Garrett was able to even finish his sentence.

Jasper and I found seats and put our jackets down then went to the bar to order a pitcher.

"Does he get more ridiculous every time I see him, or do I just not see him enough?" I wondered aloud to Jasper as he poured beer from the jug into each of our cups.

"The latter, definitely. Garrett is one of a kind, but I wouldn't change it for the world. When I'm super grumpy and really irritated with the world I always give him a call and let him give me a lecture on how bitter I am," he smirked as he took a gulp from his plastic cup.

"You're not _that_ bitter," I eyed him mischievously.

"Have you met me? I'm a walking stereotype of an asshole," he used his free hand to gesture to himself.

"I dunno, I think you have some charm in you." I truly believed that he had no idea how irresistible he really was.

"Yeah, I am one alluring bastard, aren't I?" Never mind, the ego was definitely intact. But he was completely right.

"Now you're letting it all go to your head," I bit back. Sarcastic banter was how I usually masked my emotions and tendency to word vomit when I was around Jasper.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes for show then finished the beer in his cup.

"Hey, boys!" Leah greeted us. She gave Jasper and I each a kiss on the check before turning to the tall, blond, handsome man beside her, "Guys, this is my boyfriend, Eric. Eric, this is Jasper and Edward."

We all exchanged hand-shakes before he somewhat nervously said, "I'm totally cool with what you guys've got going on here. There are a lot of narrow minded people out there but I'm totally down with the gays."

"Well I'm totally down with the straits as well so I guess we're all good." Jasper snapped back. I knew he wasn't genuinely offended because this guy clearly meant no harm, but Jasper always got defensive when he was purposefully singled out because of his sexuality.

"Jasper." Leah and I both said in warning at the same time while Eric looked uncomfortable.

"It's cool, bud. Just as you said, there are a lot of narrow minded people out there," Jasper said casually, probably to ease the tension but it didn't help.

"Don't mind this one, he's just bitter." I threw back at him to slightly ease his frustration and the tension. Turning back to Leah and Eric, I asked them how they met and how long they had been seeing each other while already knowing that it was a new relationship. It took a few beats, but Jasper came around and was his usual self again while he interacted with them.

When they left to go speak with the birthday boy, Jasper turned to the bartender and ordered a bottle of beer. I had three beers from the pitcher and decided that that was sufficient for the evening for me. We went to sit at one of the reserved tables and I eyed Jasper skeptically as he sighed.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I know he was trying to be cool, but it still gets under my skin, you know?" He was leaning into me and speaking in a more hushed tone. I knew he was confiding in me because I had head similar thoughts from him before. "I just hate it that people now feel the need to prove that they're 'cool' with the 'gays'. I mean, I'm happy it's even possible now, as twenty years ago it would have been a completely different story, but I still feel marginalized and _different_ when people make a big deal about showing how 'cool' they are with it. I just wish it didn't matter. Like how some people like blue and others like green. I like men; others like women. Big deal," he shrugged before leaning back and taking a swig of his beer.

"I think people are just nervous. For so long it wasn't socially acceptable and now it's starting to be and it makes people who never cared in the first place nervous." I offered in an attempt to put his frustration at ease.

With help from the group, Jasper had become even more comfortable in his own skin while he was in Seattle. While, before he went to Rome, he hadn't flaunted his sexuality, he hadn't exactly been secure in his own skin. This year, I had really seen him more at peace with himself and it was extremely gratifying for me. The only time I had ever seen him crawl back into his insecurity was through his emails when he was home in Louisiana. He didn't talk about it but I knew the environment he was in when he was home made him miserable.

"It's going to get better, Jas. It already has. We just need to wait it out and keep our heads on straight." My pep talk wasn't very peppy.

"I know, you're right," he said just before taking a long swig of his beer.

"Good. Because although this was a very constructive discussion, you did drag me out to this party and promise me a fun-filled evening; so, enough with the moral talk and let's raise the roof!" I even used hand gestures to signify that last sentiment.

"You've _got_ to get out more," Jasper said through a laugh and I shrugged innocently. He started to get up and I asked him where he was going, "To get us more drinks! I don't care about some bullshit 'but I need to study in the morning' excuse, you're at least getting fun-drunk tonight."

I rolled my eyes as he walked away. Immediately Paul filled the empty seat beside me and we began catching up immediately. Jasper came back over a moment later to drop off my drink but then was off to chat with another group.

Throughout the evening we found ourselves apart from each other but our eyes would casually meet and hold each other from time to time. Even after he waved or gave me a slight smirk and turned away I found myself staring at him for a few more lingering moment, just to observe him naturally.

It was while I was talking with Leah that I found myself once again lingering on him from across the room. "Edward." I heard her say my name followed by a tug on my shirt before I returned my full attention to her.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying? I got lost in thought for a moment," I white-washed easily. Lying about my feelings for Jasper was like second nature.

"You've got it bad," she commented with a raised eyebrow.

"I- What- I… huh?" was what I finally settled upon.

"_Jasper_, Edward. You can't take your eyes off him," she said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"I- I wasn't… I mean- I don't know what you're talking about." I felt like child caught in a lie. My entire body was panicking. My heart was racing. I felt sweat at my brow line. My eyes were shifting across the room uncontrollably. Never had I ever talked about my feeling for Jasper with anyone. Ever.

"Edward, it's okay. I'm not going to tell anyone," she put a hand on my arm to sooth me.

I was silent for a long time, debating what I should say next. Finally, while staring at the wall past her shoulder, I ventured, "Is it obvious?"

Bringing my eyes to hers she shook her head. "I've noticed it for a while, whenever you two are together. At first I though you were just really close friends, but the more I paid attention, the more I knew it was more for you," she said calmly.

"Is it just me?" I asked somewhat desperately. Leah was most definitely closer to Jasper than I.

"I don't know. He's never said anything to me. I can't really tell," she said honestly.

I nodded a few time in comprehension, "'Kay."

We were then joined by a group of people who insisted we partake in tequila shots. Being slightly buzzed already, I didn't see the harm in doing one and then calling it quits for the evening afterward.

Jasper came over to me after and wrapped his arm about my shoulder. "Having fun?" he some what yelled into my ear over the music. My cheeks automatically flushed at his closeness and I think I let out a giggle. "Told ya' you'd have fun!" By the way, he was slouching into my side and I could tell that he was rather drunk.

"This really was a good idea. Thanks for making me come out," I said. He quickly leaned in and lightly bonked his forehead with mine before leaving me again to go and talk to a brunette who I didn't know.

I wasn't able to dwell on that for longer than a second, though, as Paul and Jake soon joined me. We got into a deep discussion about what we all were planning to do after we graduated in the spring and our life goals – you know, drunken deep conversations.

The topic shifted to current music then to film then television then sports, all the while randoms would float in and out of the conversation when convenient.

My eyes soon found the clock on the back of the bar and it read one a.m. I had cut myself off at least an hour prior and was able to now determine that it was probably time for me to consider heading out. It also suddenly made me very aware that I hadn't gone to the bathroom all evening and that I was in dire need to 'break the seal' as Jasper would say.

Speaking of Jasper, I hadn't spotted him in a while but that usually meant that he was outside taking a smoke. To his word, he had cut down but during social occasions he would smoke much more than he normally would on his own.

Excusing myself, I went to the back of the bar where there was a hallway that led to the bathrooms. After using the urinal and washing my hands, I went to exit the bathroom. The minute the door was open I heard the distinct noise of two people going at it at the end of the hallway in front of the emergency exit. Shrugging, I gave the couple in questions one glace out of curiosity before continuing on my way. Or, at least, that's what I had planned on doing.

That quick glance captured a head of crazy beach blond waves and, on an impulse, I found myself stopping and actually looking at the couple. Complete and utter dread filled my system.

The hallway wasn't very well lit but the glow of the exit sign was enough for me to take in exactly what I was seeing. Jasper had the brunette from earlier pressed again the wall while their hands roamed each other and their lips were anchored to one another. It wasn't just their lips either; it was their tongues.

I felt my chest physically wheeze. It felt like someone was standing on my ribs and the bones were digging into my heart. I never knew heartbreak literally felt like my heart was breaking. My nose felt tingly as I waited for the tears to blur my vision. I wanted to sit down but, more than that, I wanted to get out of there.

For some reason my feet had been rooted to that spot. My eyes had been glued to the horrific image in front of me, but no more. I didn't say anything to anyone as I approached the bar, paid off my tab and went to retrieve my coat.

"You're leaving?" Leah asked.

"But it's so early!" Garrett yelled from across the table.

"I have to study in the morning," was all I said as I slipped on my coat.

"Get home safe, Edward!" Garrett nearly yelled, to which I scrunched my brows.

"See you later?" Leah looked concerned.

"Yup. Bye." I just needed to get out of there, get home and die. I could barely hold the tears in as I headed for the door.

"Bye, Edward!" I head Paul yell after me.

I turned to give him a quick wave but didn't get a chance as my eyes immediately focused on Jasper coming from the back hallway, his shirt crumpled and a worried look was on his face. His eyes found mine right away and the pain in my chest sharpened dramatically. Looking at him no longer infatuated me; it was breaking me.

Taking one last, blurred glance at him, as the tears were now on their way and there was nothing I could do to stop them; I shook my head twice in complete devastation and left the bar.

I had to get myself into a cab, as the bus service wasn't running anymore, and home before I completely lost it. I needed to be alone. There were no cabs in sight and that just furthered my frustration and pain. I just wanted to be away from here, from the brunette and, especially, from Jasper.

I had so naïvely thought that, when Jasper was ready for more again, I would have been that person to be more with. I was such a fool.

Defeated, I started walking toward the direction of my apartment in hopes that some time along the way I would see a taxi and catch a ride then.

"Edward!" I heard him yell. Couldn't he just fucking tell that I wanted to be alone? I didn't stop walking.

"Edward!" Again he yelled, this time closer. I heard his footsteps running behind me. "Wait!"

"I'm going home. I have to study in the morning." I got out coldly but loud enough for him to hear without having to turn around.

"No! Wait!" He was a few feet away from me now and the fact that he wanted me to _wait_ for him just fucking boggled my mind.

Spinning around, I had a few tears already running down my face and before I could even control it, I was practically screaming, "I've _been_ waiting, Jasper!"

He stared at me with wide eyes, completely stunned. It was like a bomb had suddenly gone off and I couldn't stop myself.

"I've been waiting because, in October, you said you weren't ready! And that was okay. I understood. And I've been understanding ever since!" I was definitely yelling at him. "What the fuck do you think we've been doing this whole time? I've been fucking _waiting_ for you! So, no, Jasper, I will not wait. I'm done. You want to go hook up with randoms while I just _wait_ for you? I won't do it! I fucking _love_ you!"

There was silence between us. My body was on complete overdrive with emotions; anger, sadness, betrayal. I felt physical pain everywhere. It didn't even occur to me that I had just told Jasper that I loved him. If our friendship was at least standing before, it had crumbled now.

"Edward, I…" he had nothing to say. Nothing at all.

"And you know what the worst part is? Had Garrett and Paul not yelled goodbye to me, you'd probably be going home with that guy tonight." I barely got it out through the sobs that I found myself choking out.

The only sound was of my broken breathing as we stared at each other. Jasper with wide sorrowful eyes and mine glazed over with complete hopelessness. He didn't say anything at all; he just stood there as I saw everything and anything we had disintegrate.

Finally, not being able to take it anymore, I closed my lids and felt fat tears fall down my cheeks. Shaking my head as an attempt to clear my thoughts, I said quietly, "I'm going home. Goodnight, Jasper." Then I turned around and didn't look back as I left Jasper standing there.

**March 26th 2033**

"You're right. I don't like this part of the story," Lily said to her lap. She had long since stopped eating her breakfast.

"Me either," Oliver said very seriously, "I hate hearing about you guys fighting."

"PJ… how could you have…?" Lily couldn't even get out the words.

"Can I finish this part of the story?" Jasper asked me softly and I nodded.

"You just want to tell them the happy part of the story," I smirked.

"The happy part? Thank god; 'cause, so far, this is the worst way to start my morning," Oliver commented.

"Well, hopefully this'll make it up," Jasper began.

**February 10th 2001 **_JPOV_

I had fucked up. I had really fucked up.

There were no other words forming in my brain to say to Edward as I saw him walk away from me. The night had been great and, so easily, it had been ruined.

When I had returned from Italy in July, I had been a real wreck. I'd had to literally walk away from Alec at the security gate with the knowledge that I would never see him again. Both of us had tears in our eyes and on our cheeks and I couldn't remember the last time I had cried. The plane ride was hell. The woman beside me had finally started silently passing tissues to me an hour in, after she'd noticed my moist cheeks. I don't think I even thanked her.

Retuning to Zachary was like a slap in the face. I had been so empowered while in Europe and the moment I stepped back home I had immediately felt the suffocation of the small town surround me. The remainder of the summer I spent working at the local diner where I felt myself feeling more and more numb. My parents, especially my Dad, had begun to comment on my sullen demeanor. He said that I should "stop being a weak fag" and to "go meet a fun girl down at the bar to loosen up." Enough said.

Alec and I attempted to stay in touch, but after the first initial emails and online chats we realized it was much harder than to simply break away for good.

When I returned to school, Rosalie made more of an effort to check in on me if not every day then every other day. I hadn't spoken much to her over to summer as Emmett and she were still getting their lives organized in California. Being able to really talk to her again helped, but I still found myself passing life by everyday.

Then I bumped into Edward. Literally. We'd gone out for dinner and for the first time since returning back to the States I felt a little normal.

Edward was outgoing and full of confidence and it was strangely endearing. Other than his new-found personality he was still the same old Edward who studied until his eyes fell shut and only had one beer with his meal. Oh, and, of course, he was still tragically handsome as always.

I hadn't realized how much I had missed this. Not just Edward, but going out with a friend and just hanging out.

When Edward suggested I come to his group-function thing, I was immediately uncomfortable. Although I knew people were much more understanding here than back home, being so visibly vulnerable within a matter that was highly "controversial" made me nervous. Edward picked up on this right away and reassured me that it was a cool environment and that I didn't have to go or continue going if I didn't like it. I was very glad that I had decided to join.

Walking Edward home, I hadn't realized until his lips were pressed against mine that perhaps he had thought that this was something more. I adored Edward in every possible way; he was gorgeous with a whip-smart personality and a sense of humor that was to die for but I was just not ready.

Just before he was about to run his tongue over my lips I had to break away from him and tell him that, although part of me did want to, a larger part of me was still broken and dead from another. He understood and I was relieved because, like I said; I adored him.

Months past and Edward became a large part of my life. He'd helped me integrate myself into the Gay-Straight Alliance group and I was so happy that he did. The people there were miraculous and made me truly think that our future may not be as narrow minded and hateful as I had previously predicted. I found myself with a new group of friends and a new life.

Edward had become my confidante and I don't think he realized how much I relied on him. Over the months, I found myself wanting to simply spend more and more time with him, even if that time was spent in the library silently studying. I was completely infatuated by him.

But, even though I spent most of my time with him and was definitely attracted to him, the idea of moving forward still pulled at my chest and left me feeling slightly breathless and uneasy.

When I returned back to school from the winter break I noticed a shift in Edward's and my relationship. Gazes lingered, soft, innocent touches were exchanged and at the same time he became more withdrawn from me. I could tell he was, on some level, uncomfortable being around me.

A month of this passed and it was taking a toll on me. I had a much stronger urge to move forward with Edward. It was like I was suddenly realizing how truly _hot_ he was and how _funny_ he was. I just needed a bit more time. I didn't want to jump into something with him then realize I wasn't ready only to hurt his feelings and our friendship in the process.

I was glad I had convinced him to come out to Garrett's party. The evening was a blast and every time I looked over to him I could tell he was enjoying himself. Because he was so pale, every time he drank an immediate flush would come over his cheeks so I could tell he was at least buzzed. Throughout the evening our eyes would catch each other and I would always find myself smirking at how connected I felt to him in those moments.

At some point in the evening I had been introduced to Felix, Garrett's brother's best friend. He was funny and hot and I found myself really enjoying his company. He was definitely gay as I had seen him leave lingering looks towards men's asses in the room so maybe this was a perfect opportunity. Each time I spoke to him he seemed interested in potentially something more for the night and that was great because that was all I wanted. I wanted to make sure I was completely back to my normal self before I pursued Edward.

That drunken mentality is what resulted in me pressing Felix up again the wall in the dark hallway near the emergency exit. As I pressed myself and my lips against his I felt exhilarated. I didn't feel the knot in my chest or the burn of unshed tears. It felt like making out with a hot guy. It was fun and exciting and drunkenly sloppy.

He had just begun to dip his fingertips into my jeans when I heard distant yells that sounded a lot like, "get home safe, Edward!"

Edward was leaving?

Pulling my lips away from Felix, he continued down my neck and then I heard again, this time much clearer, "'Bye, Edward!"

I broke away from Felix completely. Why was Edward leaving? Without even coming to say bye?

"Sorry… I have to go," I said quietly before making my way back to the bar.

As I reached the end of the hallway I saw Edward at the door. He was turned towards me and our eyes met. From my distance I couldn't really read his facial expression but I could definitely see the predominant frown scrunching his forehead. Something had happened.

He shook his head in what appeared to be disappointment then left. Something had definitely happened.

I quickly grabbed my coat from where I had stashed it and dashed ran after him. My head literally felt light and my body felt clumsy but I managed to catch up with him. I called after him and asked him to wait because I wanted to know what had happened. But he didn't turn around and instead he threw back a cold, "I have to study" bullshit response.

Was he mad at me? Did he see Felix and me? I hadn't meant to ditch him.

He was still walking away. I ran a bit faster to catch up to him and again asked him to wait. My stomach felt like it was rock; I hated this. I hated that he was upset with me.

Then, suddenly, he was facing me and he was yelling. I don't think I had ever seen Edward like that. As he practically screamed at me in the middle of the sidewalk I hoped for that sudden stroke of soberness I had heard so much about when people had to deal with serious crap when they were drunk. But it never came. I was drunk and he was yelling and suddenly he said he _loved_ me and after all his yelling was done my fuzzy mind could only conjure up, "Edward, I…"

He _loved_ me. But he also said he was done with me. All because I had made out with Felix?

Is that why he had been acting weird? He loved me? How had I not fucking figured it out?

"And you know what the worst part is? Had Garrett and Paul not yelled goodbye to me, you'd probably be going home with that guy tonight." And he was right. He was sobbing and in so much pain because I had tried to be better for him.

Then he was walking away.

And there we were, ladies and gentlemen. I was standing in the middle of the sidewalk drunk, confused and, unfortunately, still horny from earlier.

I had fucked up. I had really fucked up.

* * *

My first conscious thought was that my head was killing me. The second was water. I desperately needed water.

Opening my eyes, I stared at my ceiling and was so glad that I had closed my curtains last night before I went out.

Mentally bracing myself, I literally rolled out of bed and stumbled into some boxers before making my way to the bathroom. I filled up the cup we kept in the bathroom and chugged it back then did it again five times more.

Turning the shower on, I waited until it was decently warm then shucked my boxers and hopped in. It was only after I had been standing under the spray for at least ten minutes straight before the events of last night really came back to me.

Looking back, I broke the night's events down into a few key points. First, Edward loved me. Second, I knew I was ready to try with Edward. Unfortunately the third point was that I completely destroyed that last night. And finally, fourth, Edward was really scary when he blew up at someone.

I understood why he was so visibly upset with me. When we had met in October I had turned down his advances then but I never denied having something more with him in the future. I suppose he was right in asking what I thought we were doing. I guess I thought we were friends… with a history… and maybe something more? I didn't know what I thought.

Finally, I started to wash myself. After I had gotten home the night before, I sat on our small balcony and chain smoked two packs, then finished off the beer I had in our fridge. To say I smelled bad was an understatement.

After my shower I went back to my room and got dressed. I looked at the clock and saw it was eleven in the morning. After dressing myself, I really didn't feel like eating anything so I sat down on my bed and sighed. I had really gotten myself into a pickle.

I wanted something more with Edward. He was simply… amazing. I knew I had fucked up with him, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn't owe Edward anything. Sure, there was some sort of weird thing between us but we were just friends and had I wanted to go off with someone it wasn't his place to be angry with me.

He was right to be hurt, I had definitely hurt his feelings; but what I did didn't deserve his anger.

Being able to think it through clearer this morning made me want to talk to him. I hadn't been able to say anything last night because I was so utterly shocked but now, I was competent and I wanted to see him. I wanted to really discuss what had happened and if there was any chance for me to make it up to him.

I knew he was home studying so I bit the bullet and gathered my things to head over to his place. Making sure to grab my sunglasses before I left, I trekked the familiar walk up 15th Avenue then over one block. Walking into the main foyer, I punched in his buzzer number.

After a few rings he picked up, "Hello?"

"It's me." I said. There was a long pause on the other side but eventually I heard the click that indicated he'd buzzed me up.

Heading to the second floor, I walked to his door not far down the hall and knocked. I heard movement on the other side and then heard the lock unlock and then I was met with a very disheveled Edward.

He was still in his pajama bottoms and a worn in grey t-shirt while his hair was sticking up in all directions. He had bags under his eyes and he looked pale overall.

"Hi," I said shyly.

"Hi," he said in a monotone. His arm was holding open the door and his body was blocking the entryway.

Clearing my throat I asked cautiously, "Can we talk?"

"I don't know, Jasper. I'm… uh, kind of busy." He still hadn't moved his body and the more I took him in the more he just looked completely destroyed.

"Please, Edward." I needed to make this better. I felt completely open and vulnerable. I hadn't even entertained the idea of not having Edward in my life yet and the possibility made me sick.

He looked at me skeptically for a few moments then nodded gently before he opened the door wider and stepped aside for me to enter. Walking past him, I didn't want to overstep my bounds so I stayed in the kitchen. He closed the door and walked to the other side of the island then rested his forearms on the counter-top while remaining standing. I stood uncomfortably in the middle of the kitchen while he just gazed down at his hands.

"I'm sorry," I started. "I'm really sorry, Edward. I truly don't know what I was thinking these past few months. I didn't know you felt that way about me or I would have- I never wanted to hurt you." I finished. He wasn't looking at me. Apparently his hands were very interesting.

"Yeah, well, now you know," he murmured before turning away from me completely and facing the windows in his living room. He had a hint of anger in his voice and that frustrated me.

"I know I hurt your feelings and I'm sorry for that, but come on. I didn't owe you anything, Edward. We weren't together. I know there were implications but nothing had happened and, last I checked, we were friends so I really don't think I deserve this anger you have towards me," I said bitterly.

"You're right, you don't owe me anything," he agreed quietly to the room. "I just thought that-" he cut himself off then was silent.

"You thought what?"

"I thought that if you were ready to move on that-" he paused for a moment, "that it would be with me." He was just whispering but I heard it clearly in the otherwise silent room.

"I'm sorry, I just-" and before I could finish, he cut me off.

"I'm not mad at you, Jasper," he sighed before he turned to face me again. "I just don't know how to talk to you right now."

"What the fuck does that mean?" I demanded.

"It means I need time," he said sternly. The sudden strength in his voice took me by surprise.

"Fuck, time!" I took a few steps closer towards him, "You want to know why I was hooking up with Felix? It was because I wanted to make sure when I asked you to be with me that I could _really_ be with you. I didn't want to lead you on only to later freak out and hurt your feelings!" I was getting louder but I was nowhere near yelling. "I guess I managed to do that anyways." I exhaled and ran my hand through my hair as I shifted my gaze to different areas in the room.

"Oh, did your little _test_ work, then?" He asked all snarky.

"Yes!" I found myself exclaiming.

"So, I caught you hooking up, freaked out on you, told you I love you," he laughed humorlessly, "and you come up with a brilliant excuse that you were just "preparing" yourself for me. Okay," he scoffed.

My eyes snapped to his face and I didn't say anything until I had his full attention, "I'm not lying. I have never lied to you, Edward. I'm truly sorry for hurting your feelings but I still want to be with you. I want to try," as I had been talking I subconsciously crept forward and now there was only about two feet separating us.

He looked so conflicted as he shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't know what to say- what to do," he confessed. My body relaxed in relief. I took two steps closer to him then tentatively wrapped my fingers around the back of his neck while my thumbs rested on his cheeks. His hands rose a few times as if to rest them on my hips but each time they dropped right back down. He was staring at the floor and his breaths were coming in shallow pants.

"I want to fix this. I want to try. Please let's try this. I know this was a shitty start but I want to do this. I want to be with you. The thought of losing you completely makes me sick, please-" I was definitely rambling and the only thing that cut me off was the fact that Edward had finally brought his hands to rest on my hips while bringing his forehead to mine.

We stayed like that for a while, just breathing and being completely enthralled in one another.

"Okay," he finally whispered and I couldn't contain the growing smile on my face.

"Okay?" I asked for confirmation.

"Okay," he confirmed.

Immediately, I brought his mouth forward and captured his lips with mine. It was exactly as I had remembered it but so much better. We weren't dicking around this time, we were going to work at this and hopefully last.

It was Edward who deepened the kiss by running his tongue along my lower lip. Instead of shutting him out this time I surrendered to his request by opening my mouth.

As we kissed, one of my hands slithered up into his hair while the other slid down to pull at the collar of his t-shirt. Breaking his kiss, I trailed down his cheek and throat moving his t-shirt collar even more to give me enough room to suck on the base of his neck.

"Jasper," he sighed then ran his hands up and down my still coat-covered chest. I hummed in response while suckling on random spots on his neck.

"Jasper," he said again, this time in a breathy laugh.

"Yes," I murmured while bringing my head back up to him and resting my forehead once again on his.

"As much as I want this, and believe me, I do, I can't," he laughed at my groan. "We should do this right; I don't want to rush into anything. That and I _really_ have to study for my midterm."

I rolled my eyes, of-fucking-course. "Alright, genius boy. How about this: your midterm is Wednesday, right?" He confirmed. "Okay then, Wednesday night we're going on a date. A real date. No dicking around this time."

"That sounds nice," he breathed then leaned forward to lightly press his lips against mine.

**March 26th 2033**

They were definitely not impressed.

"That's it?" Lily asked.

"Well… kind of, but that's when we finally got together." I tried to suppress my laughter at my children's rather unimpressed expressions.

"Guys, that was really anti-climatic. I mean, you guys! Come on!" Oliver gasped over-dramatically, to which we both laughed.

"Do you really want to hear about the passion?" Edward asked with a smirk.

"Um… no." Oliver rolled his eyes then got up to place his dish in the dishwasher.

"I mean, really? That's it?" Lily asked again.

"For now, yes. But this was really when we first came together as an actual couple," Edward insisted as he stretched his arms out, resting his left on the back of my chair. Peeping down at my watch I saw that I had ten minutes before I had to be walking out the door.

"'Gotta get going?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, sorry. See you tonight?" I turned to look at him as he nodded. Leaning forward, I gave him a chaste kiss on the lips before getting up to put my own plate in the dishwasher as well.

"You know, I totally would have thought there would have been more screaming and crying during that confrontation. You two were way too civil. Just a tip: for that epic romance novel? You should definitely rewrite that scene- OW!" He exclaimed.

Lily had gotten up and joined us in the kitchen and, while Oliver had been speaking, smacked him over the head.

"Jesus, Lil!" He said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Use your words."

"And you've got to learn to _not_ use yours," she bit back and we laughed.

"You guys are just going to stand by and accept this domestic violence?" Oliver raised his eyebrow.

"I did warn you, Oliver, and you totally deserved that."

"Worst parenting ever!" He mocked before walking off towards his room.

Lily walked past me to put her own dish in the dishwasher and I held up my hand for her to high-five. "Nice." I complimented, to which she met my hand.

"This. Right here," Edward used his finger to gesture between us, "totally fucked up."

* * *

**Hope you guys liked the chapter :)**


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